Towards The Dark
by Existential Labyrinth
Summary: This is another one of those "Whovian in the Whoniverse" stories. Except, this time, it's different. The Whovian? It's a male. Andrew Evans. All he wanted was a simple trip to Paris with his friends; not to be pulled through to another universe. Now, he's stuck with an insane Time Lord, who only seems to be getting more dark as time goes on... (Dark Ten)
1. Chapter 1

**Towards the Dark – Doctor Who fanfiction**

 **Chapter One:**

* * *

 _ **June 23, 2015 – 5:15 AM: Toronto, Ontario**_

"Andrew, wake up."

Andrew Evans opened his eyes slowly only to meet the face of his mother impatiently waiting by the doorway. A smile was stretched out on her face and she was grasping the phone.

"Are you excited, honey?" She smiled brightly at him as he slowly and tiredly dragged himself over to his closet to grab clothes.

"Mom, it's just a small trip with some friends, it's nothing special." He grumbled, a little gloomy due to not getting a lot of sleep. Truth be told, he was nervous. He was going to travel to _Paris_ with his friends.

His mom tutted, placing her hands on her hips. " _Nothing special_? This is special! My little boy is finally going on a trip with his friends off the continent!" She squealed at the last part, before he heard his father yell at the other side of the house. His mother sighed before giving him a small smile. "You better get ready soon. Your father's getting a bit impatient. Lord knows why he has to wait in the car before you even wake up."

Andrew chuckled a bit as he threw on jeans and a shirt, before padding over to his kitchen to grab a granola bar. Then suddenly, his mother materialised in the doorway, scowling.

"That isn't enough food, young man. A growing boy like you needs a lot of nutrients!"

"Mom, I'm 21." He sighed, chucking the wrapper in the trash as he strode back over to his room to grab his bag. He made sure to grab a sweater as well; it was strangely cold outside. He also quickly combed his hair, making sure to note how he looked that morning. Long brown hair, dark circles under his eyes... And yet still no beard. His mother once told him when he was a teenager that he looked like a hippie. He believed that now.

"I'll have to just get a french haircut!" He decided, smiling as he headed down to his father's car.

His mom was leaning on the side, her blonde hair blowing in the wind. He groaned inwardly as she smiled at him.

"Mom, do you really have to come with me and Dad to the airport?"

She looked offended. "Why wouldn't I want to see my son off on to the plane? I _do_ care about you, you know."

Andrew rolled his eyes, breathing in the crisp Ontario air. It was June. Wasn't it supposed to be _warm_? Even in the mornings? This was unnatural, even for Canada.

He barely closed the door to the car before his father slammed on the gas pedal and said, "Let's go."

* * *

 _ **-6:01 AM: Pearson International Airport-**_

"Ohmigosh I haven't seen you in forever!" His girlfriend, Shelly, squealed as he was crushed to death by her hug. He could hear his mother chuckle nearby, and he blushed.

"Shell-y!" Andrew whined as his girlfriend laughed and hugged his mom aswell. His father stood by and smiled toothily at him, his eyes crinkling up. "I remember when I was your age, Andrew. Me and your mother, the first time we went on a trip off the continent, we were _high_ on the plane..."

"Donald!" His mother scolded him, though it was in good nature. His girlfriend giggled next to him, and he felt a little more confident.

It was still dark outside, but the lights inside the airport were bright and did a lot to cheer him up. He always liked when it was dark outside. It made him feel reflective as he gazed out into the pitch black, almost as if he could see forever.

His train of thought was broken as his best friend, Joel, frightened him from behind. He yelped, and Shelly cackled nearby.

"Bro, you have got to lighten up a bit." Joel chuckled as Andrew grumbled about how true friends didn't do that sort of thing.

"Well, we've got our little party of three, we've passed through security, and now all we have to do is... wait." Shelly moaned nearby, prompting laughs from his mother.

"Oh, I was even more impatient than you at my age. If I remember right, me and your father slipped off to the washroom some time before the plane took off..."

"Beatrice!" His father shouted, mortified. His mother cackled some more, before a nearby magazine stand caught her eye and she strode off.

"I think that was her idea of revenge for the thing you said before..." Andrew tried to tell his father, who was moaning.

"Well, if me and Andrew _ever_ get married-" Shelly gave him a look "-I'll be sure to banter with him _just like that_!"

"Lord help me," Andrew moaned softly, earning a swat from Shelly.

They sat for another twenty minutes, by which time Andrew was sure they were _never_ going to get on the plane. Bored, he wandered over to the window and gazed up at the large plane. It stood forebodingly in front of the window, it's white front dented and scratched from years of travelling.

"'S pretty massive thing, ain't it?" A man came up to next him, and he jumped. The man was _old_ , yet strangely curious. His white beard was majestically long, and flowed down to his waist. His gray eyes flitted introspectively between Andrew and the large aircraft.

Andrew cleared his throat, before speaking. "Er... yes. You know, I've never actually seen a beard like that in real life. It makes you look like a wizard!" He blurted out the last part, and he covered his mouth. Thankfully, the man laughed. "That's okay, I get that all the time. My grandkid's call me Dumbledore everytime I visit them." He winked at Andrew, and he blushed.

"It's just, I'm sorry. I've always had the problem of just speaking what's on my mind." Andrew rubbed the back of his neck.

"It is better to let your voice be heard, than to let it fade away into the background. Remember that, young man." The man said wisely, before wandering away back to his seat. Andrew stood there thoughtfully for a moment, looking back up at the plane, before shrugging and walking off back to his seat.

* * *

 _ **-6:41 AM: Boarding Time-**_

" _Ladies and gentlemen, may we have your attention please. May Air Canada Flight 190 please start boarding now._ " An announcement came on overhead. Shelly yawned nearby, before getting up and cracking her back.

"I think that the airline managers are getting lazier and lazier as time goes on. Back in my day, we would've already been up in the air." His father grumbled nearby.

"May I remind you, you didn't actually have to stay?" Andrew raised an eyebrow at his father.

"...And miss saying goodbye to my lovely, little boy?!" His mother squealed and cut in, hugging him tightly. "I love you, honey. Don't ever forget that." She whispered into his ear, smiling as she let him go. Andrew managed to give her an awkward smile, before shaking his fathers hand.

"Have fun, Andrew. Paris is amazing, and remember-" he suddenly pulled Andrew closer to him "-you've got your whole life ahead of you. One day your going to be paying taxes just like me, so be sure to _enjoy this trip_. Freedom doesn't last forever."

Andrew managed to give him a curt "Yes, sir!" before grasping his girlfriends hand. Shelly beamed up at him, and he smiled a bit more. Joel groaned nearby, and Andrew turned to stare at him.

"You guys better not get all lovey-dovey on the plane, you hear? Anyways, I packed some bottles of Pop in my bag. Andrew, I know you _love_ Cream Soda, so I packed that for you. Oh, I also packed Grape Soda. Me and Andrew, you know, we don't understand how you don't like it, Shelly..." Joel rambled, before being cut off by Andrew.

"Joel, rambling, _again_." He chuckled as Joel sighed audibly.

They slowly walked towards the airplane, hand in hand, tickets grasped in their hands.

"We love you!" His mother yelled from the back, and he turned to wave goodbye at her as they boarded. He didn't miss her flinch, and the disappointment etched over her face. They already knew he loved them, anyways.

* * *

 _ **-6:55 AM: Take-Off Time-**_

"These seats must be made of steel. My ass _hurts_!" Shelly moaned next to him, and he chuckled before glancing out the window at the approaching sunlight. "Why did you get the window seat, anyways? I _thought_ we bet on it!" She glared at him.

"No, we _drew straws_. That's like, a totally different thing." He gave her a sly little smile, enjoying her gasp.

"You still drew the _short straw_ , you know!" She punched him in the shoulder.

He shrugged, feeling oddly elated. Joel only shook his head, gesturing to his seat.

"Atleast you didn't get the aisle seat. Now I have to be stared at by every passing person- though, the flight attendants are fine." Joel winked at Shelly, who scoffed and swatted him.

Andrew felt amazing; nothing could ruin the moment. He was enjoying his adult life, with his friends, on a plane. He was finally enjoying his life. He realized that, for the first time, he felt like he actually belonged. He smiled at Shelly as she imitated the people sitting nearby, and laughed with Joel as he worried about his marijuana stash getting caught.

"Here, stuff it in your underwear!" Joel chucked it at Andrew, who quickly did that as a flight attendant passed by. She gave them a glance of disapproval before continuing on her way. A moment passed before all three of them burst out into laughter, Shelly snorting.

Time passed, Joel and Shelly fell asleep, and Andrew was left awake staring off into space. He quickly got up to go for a pee, and strode down the aisle. He caught of the old man from before, sitting peacefully in the middle row. The old man gave Andrew a nod, and Andrew smiled before continuing on his way.

When he got back to his seat, Shelly was half awake, blearily pawing around for her cell phone.

"Whatimeisit?" She mumbled, hair trapped in her mouth.

"It's been two hours. We have still six hours to go."

Shelly opened her mouth to speak, raising her hand to brush her hair away.

"You know, I was enjoying my sleep, then I realized you were gone and-"

 **BAM!**

The entire cabin shook, and Andrew was quite rudely thrown around in his seat. He grasped at the armrest and looked down at Shelly. Her mouth was open in a gasp as the entire plane seemed to shudder, and then he heard the sound of ripping metal.

 _Oh God, Oh God, Oh God._

People were letting out bloodcurdling screams as the lights started to flicker and go out, and the entire cabin groaned as rivets popped out.

"OH MY GOD!" Shelly screamed as the left side of the plane sparked and blew up, sending clouds of fire their way. They watched, horrified, as Joel's head was blown off, sending waves of blood over their seats.

"I DON'T WANNA DIE!" They heard a woman scream as she was ripped from her seat and thrown into a hole in the plane.

And suddenly, the entire front of the plane just exploded, and wall of fire quickly met their faces. Andrew felt as his entire skin burned, the fire covering his entire being. He watched as his skin slowly turned black and curled, and felt the pain as his face was melted. There were more sparks, and suddenly he was falling, and falling, and falling.

Away and away into oblivion, he fell. Slowly the screams and flames faded away, and he was faced with darkness. It was calm, he noted. And slowly, tendrils of light enveloped him, and he was falling once more. He couldn't even scream as he was swept away into the light, and he was enveloped in it. And then, suddenly, he was in an alleyway. He was staring at a brick wall. The sound of traffic hit Andrew's ears, and he carefully pried his eyes away from the wall to stare at the entrance to the alley. He looked over himself slowly, feeling his hands. They weren't burned. Nothing was burned. It was like nothing had touched him. He pulled out his phone quickly, panicking slightly. Checking the camera, he could see that nothing was different. It was as if he wasn't even in a plane crash.

He was alive. In an alley. _The Hell_?

He quickly ran over to the entrance of the alley, and stared wide eyed at the traffic in front of him. He was in _London_. Not London, Ontario. No, London, _England_.

 _Maybe he blacked out, or got drunk_? He thought, feeling sick as he once again went back into the alley. He checked the spot he arrived in, and thought he could feel the small tingle of energy, but that was probably just him. He just had to find his friends, they probably dumped him on the street laughing about his hangover. Maybe he could call Shelly? Andrew pulled out his phone again, disappointed when he realized there was no reception. He was still confused as to why they would be in London, though. They were supposed to be in _Paris_. Land of the _French_. Not England, Land of the _British_.

Maybe they decided to go around the UK? On a whim? That could certainly be possible, though it would be very-

"Hello, there." A familiar voice brought him out his thoughts. Slowly, Andrew turned his head to look right into the eyes of _David Tennant_.

"Oh. Hello! David Tennant, wow... I never expected to meet you in person before..." He stuttered, gazing at him suspiciously.

David's eyes narrowed before he leaned in. "My name isn't David. You must be mistaken. I am the Doctor!"

Andrew let out an exasperated laugh, causing David's eyebrow to raise. "No, the Doctor was the character you played in the show 'Doctor Who'". This was really starting to get on his nerves. He didn't care anymore whether he was talking to a famous person. "Anyways, I can't talk to you right now, I need to go... Find my friends." He began to walk away, before his arm was grabbed by David's hand. Wow, he had an iron grip!

"Hmm, actually... I can't let you do that." David hummed.

Andrew slowly turned his head around, before saying: " _What the fuck_?"

Little did he know, he just stepped into a nightmare...


	2. The Mystery Begins

**Chapter Two**

* * *

 _ **-2007: London, England-**_

Andrew glared at David with as much venom as he could muster. "Let go of me."

David rocked back on his heels slightly, his other hand shoved into his pocket. "Oh, I'm really afraid I can't."

The arrogant ass. Andrew, in a fit of rage, stomped down onto his foot. David yelped, momentarily releasing his grip on Andrew's arm. Taking the chance, Andrew quickly sprinted off, his shoes slapping against the cement. He was really out of shape. He should've went to the gym much more often!

Oh crap. The street was packed with cars, each one moving at a snails pace. Quickly making a decision, Andrew charged across the street, dodging between the cars. Making it to the other side of the street, he quickly caught sight of a nearby newspaper stand. He stomped up to the stand and snatched up the newspaper, gasping when he realised it was 2007.

He was in _2007_. He was in the _past_. Suddenly feeling sick, he turned around to face David striding down the street, his face grim. Oh wait, does this mean...?

Andrew suddenly wanted to throw up. He wasn't just in the _past_. He was in another _universe_. Which meant, the man he thought was David is actually...

"Holy fuck, I'm in the Doctor's universe..." He whispered to himself, turning around once again to run away. Breathing erratic, he charged through a large crowd, not even bothering to say anything to the people. He had to get away from there. He just had to get somewhere to clear his head. He had never been in London before, but he was sure he would be able to go _somewhere_.

He caught sight of a Cafe, and quickly ducked inside, making sure to keep his head down. The people were all enjoying themselves, having a normal day. Drinking tea, laughing, reading the newspaper. And here he was running from a man he thought was fiction. He saw the sign for the restrooms, and he quickly ducked inside of the Men's. There were only two stalls, but thankfully they were both empty. Shaking, he slipped into the one closest to the door. He had to be ready to run if need be. Thinking quickly, he stood up on the toilet and squatted. Perhaps the Doctor would think the lock was broken or something? If only he had an "Out-of-order" sign or something.

Seconds later, the door to the restroom burst open, and Andrew held his breath in. He remembered reading all of the fanfictions about just this type of thing... Hopefully, if he held his breath the Doctor wouldn't be able to hear him? He sure as hell didn't want the Doctor to catch him. He had read all about him in those fanfictions, and had also watched all of the episodes of him. His track record was less than impressive. Also, if his hunch was correct, then the Doctor was going to be growing a lot more dark soon, and Andrew didn't want to be around for that. Sure, if he was a lot younger, he might've been excited, but...

"I know you're in here, _Andrew_." The Doctor sang, and Andrew felt a shiver go down his spine. How did the Doctor know his name?

Lungs aching, Andrew tried a shallow breath. The second he inhaled, the door to his stall was flung open, and he was staring face to face with the Oncoming Storm himself.

"No!" He managed to gasp as the Doctor grasped his arm, pulling him out.

"It's okay! I can help you! Please, just stop panicking!" The Doctor shook him, and he felt like punching the Doctor in the face. He will not allow himself to be hypnotised by the brute. "Don't you think you're a bit _tired_ , Andrew?" The Doctor said firmly, and Andrew started to feel drowsy.

"I'm not getting fucking hypnotised by any of your voo-doo Time Lord shit, so just let me go!" Andrew snapped out of his drowsiness, pulling on his arm.

The Doctor, startled, only clamped down harder on his arm. Gritting his teeth, the Doctor sighed.

"Well, if you want to do this hard way, then we'll do this hard way." The Doctor suddenly swung at Andrew's head, and his eyes widened. Suddenly, it felt like he was falling again.

"Yes, yes... _Sleep_ , Andrew..." The Doctor's voice became fainter, and he was falling asleep. Andrew tried willing himself awake, but it didn't work, and he felt his resolve melt away...

* * *

 _Where was he? It was cold here. Andrew rubbed his arms, trying to look around the darkness. He remembered being chased by the Doctor, and being forced to sleep by him, but now... Where was he?_

 _"Hello, Andrew." A familiar voice rang out, and Andrew gasped. It was the old man from the airport. He stood infront of him, his white beard glowing despite there being no other sources of light._

 _"Why am I here?" Andrew finally found his voice, and flinched when it echoed around the darkness. The old man only smiled sadly, and raised his hand._

 _"You have been sent here in order to fulfill a task."_

 _"And what task is this?" Andrew asked, his voice small. It was too cold here._

 _"The task to bring light to the Doctor, Andrew Evans." The old man smiled warmly, and Andrew felt warmth fill his body as well._

 _"But, how did I get into this universe? And also... who are you?" Andrew asked the man, his curiosity aroused._

 _The old man shook his head. "All answers will come in Time, Andrew."_

 _Andrew crossed his arms, shivering. "Please, can you just tell me... My friends... What happened to them?"_

 _The old man gave him a look of pity. "They are dead, burned alive in an airplane explosion."_

 _Andrew felt his heart in his throat at that sentence, and he quickly swallowed his tears. "But... You were on that plane..."_

 _The old man gave him a small smirk, and cocked his head to the side. "Oh, was I?"_

 _Andrew's eyes widened, and he quickly opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He saw the Old Man's image start to fade, and he reached his hand out, wanting to pull him back._

 _"Until next time, Andrew..." The Old Man's image finally faded, and Andrew was left alone._

 _He was so alone._

* * *

Andrew opened his eyes slowly, blinking as he took in the surrounding shapes of his bedroom. Ah. It was just a dream. He saw his open books on his desk, pens and other bits all over the place. He grimaced. He should clean that up today. He supposed he was a bit stupid last night, though. It was a perfect opportunity for a lucid dream! He sighed, moving his feet off the bed onto the floor and crossing the room. Wait...

"Why am I still in my normal clothes?" He frowned, feeling the rough fabric of his shorts. And then there was...

Joel's marijuana stashed in his underwear.

He gasped, suddenly realising that everything actually _had_ happened. Blinking quickly, he checked his hands. Better to make sure he didn't have six fingers or anything. If he did, he would know he was in a dream. Paling, he turned his eyes to his bedroom door, which stood forebodingly in the corner of the room. Gulping, he slowly raised his hand to the knob and opened the door.

 _Holy shit_. He was in the TARDIS. Mouth agape, he wandered into the corridor and looked around. Large coral struts were placed at regular intervals throughout it, and a sinister orange light pulsed through the corridor. There was a small hum as he raised his hand to touch one of the coral beams, and he hissed when he felt a shock. Filled with anger, he turned to march down the hall, hoping it would lead him to the console room. Perhaps then he could walk right out the doors.

Unfortunately, it led him to what he assumed was the medbay. Long, pale blue beds were arranged in a circular fashion around what looked like a round medical shelf. Infact, it looked similar to the console room, except every wall was filled with medical supplies and drugs. Looking up, he couldn't even see the top. The walls just seemed to stretch up forever, levels and levels of drugs every which way. Anger momentarily forgotten, Andrew turned his head to look at the Doctor, who stood by with a frown on his face.

"We need to talk."

Andrew felt his anger return, and he suppressed the urge to punch him in the face. "In the middle of the TARDIS medbay? Isn't that a bit... clinical?"

The Doctor's eyes narrowed, and he crossed his arms. "How do you know the name of my ship? How do you name of my species?"

"How do you know my name?" Andrew spat back at him.

The Doctor lifted up his sonic screwdriver, and shot Andrew a glare. "Through this. You know, Andrew... Your DNA is very... different from an average human's."

"Oh, how so?" Andrew challenged him, arms akimbo.

The Doctor cleared his throat, before beginning to explain. "Well, for starters, your DNA has way too much Artron inside it, which should kill you, but for some reason it's not. Infact, the amount of Artron in your blood surpasses the amount even Time Lord's can handle." He raised an eyebrow at Andrew, who huffed.

"So? Why am I here, anyways?"

The Doctor sighed, and rubbed his head. "You're too much of a danger outside. If an alien race were to capture you, the entire universe could be ripped apart."

Suddenly cold, Andrew drew up the courage to ask: "So...?"

"So, you have to stay with me."

Andrew scoffed, before turning away from the Doctor. "As if I'm going to stay here with _you_."

He suddenly felt two hands grip onto his elbows, and he gulped. " _Actually, you have no choice in that matter_." The Doctor's voice travelled into his ear, and he shivered. He quickly turned his head, and stared right into the Doctor's brown eyes.

"And how are you going to stop me from leaving?" He asked, his voice dangerously low. This was starting to sound like all of those fanfictions he had read before. It was _eerily similar_.

The Doctor smiled coldly, sending chills into Andrew's spine. " _I guess I'll just have to do something really bad, if you're unwilling to cooperate_." Oh fuck.

And then, all of a sudden, the Doctor was happy. _He was happy_.

"Well then! Since you're stuck here with me, I guess I'll lay a few ground rules." The Doctor smiled at him warmly, before turning around to face the table, writing down something on a piece of paper. What the hell? Was the Doctor bipolar, and they just never showed that in the show?

"Never go into the console room without me there, I mean it. If you go there without me, _I will find out_. Second rule, no secrets. I want to build trust here." The Doctor winked at him, and Andrew flinched. He wants to build trust when he just basically threatened him? What the hell was his problem?

"Oh, third rule. No running away. Now then! You're free to go anywhere you want in the TARDIS, except for the console room which we established before. So then, anywhere you want to go?" The Doctor smiled at him, and Andrew's mouth felt dry. He was damned if he wasn't going to get away from him. Though, it would require a bit more strategy... Perhaps a place on Earth? In Canada? Wait... First, he had to talk to the Doctor (who was already insane, by the looks of it), about how far he was in his timeline. It would suck if he was close to the Time Lord Victorious.

"So... Would you mind telling me what you were doing before you were found by me?" The Doctor asked Andrew, and he sighed.

"I was on a plane, heading to Paris with a few friends. When suddenly, the entire plane blew up. And then I was falling into the darkness, and I woke up in the alley."

The Doctor was silent for a time, before speaking. "I'm sorry," He said softly.

Andrew clenched his fists. The Doctor probably wasn't sorry. He was most likely just faking sympathy. Like everybody else did.

"You said something earlier about me just being a fictional character in a television show. Care to explain?" The Doctor asked him, a smile playing on his lips.

"It's nothing." Andrew immediately said, regretting it when the Doctor shot him a glare. He already knew what the Doctor would think if he found out about it. He would probably just think Andrew is "Time Sensitive" or psychic. He didn't feel like being called delusional today.

"I mean it. I was just panicking at the time, that's all." He gave the Doctor a small smile, who returned the favour, albeit with a suspicious look in his eyes. Then, the Doctor gasped. He pointed at Andrew, and with a smile he exclaimed: "I know what we should do!"

Andrew sighed. " _What_?"

"We can go eat dinner! Or lunch! Or breakfast! Or whatever time it was in your universe!" The Doctor waved his hands around erratically, missing Andrew's surprised look.

"How did you know I'm from another universe?" He whispered.

The Doctor smirked at him, holding up his sonic. "This, remember?" Oh, of course. Andrew was going to have to steal that later, when he finally ran away. He would need money, so a sonic would be a great device to have. And then...

Andrew suddenly felt the need to get high, just to clear his head from all the nonsense. Get some escape. He smiled at the Doctor, and faked a yawn.

"You know, I'm kind of tired. I'm going to go to sleep in my room." He closed his eyes a bit, humming.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "You slept for about, oh say, two days. How are you tired now?" He asked.

Andrew's head snapped up, and he opened his mouth to explain. "Um... well... Putting someone to sleep the way you did, makes it so they still feel tired when they wake up." He smiled awkwardly, cringing at the silence that followed.

The Doctor, confused for a second, let out an exaggerated "Okayyyy...", and gestured for Andrew to go.

The Doctor knew that Andrew was hiding something. And he was going to find out...

* * *

 **A** **/N: Hello, everybody! How are you enjoying the fanfiction so far? I'm having lots of fun writing this. And now, the mystery of Andrew and the Old Man begins! What is Andrew, you ask? Who is the Old Man? Hmm... Guess you'll have to find out later. I felt a little disorganized towards the end of writing this chapter, but that's probably just me. I hope. Oh yeah, and one more thing... Don't expect me to be consistent with chapter updating. Sometimes there may be a day between updates, sometimes there may be a _month_ between updates. It all depends, really.**


	3. The Slipped Aspirin

**Chapter Three**

* * *

 _ **-The TARDIS: Andrew's Bedroom-**_

He was depressed, he realized as he sat inside his small room. He was already depressed even in his own universe, he just never realized it before. And now, he had _this_ problem. Stuck in another universe, away from everybody he had ever loved. He thought of Shelly, and her laugh.

 _But she's dead now,_ he thought bitterly. Her life was taken away in mere seconds, and nobody would know any different. At least in this universe. They didn't exist here. No, _he_ didn't exist here.

Andrew felt the urge to cry, but he fought it down. He had to be strong. He was going to storm right out there, and...

No. He couldn't do that, not even to someone as _infuriating_ as the Doctor.

The Doctor. The person who was fiction in his universe, actually exists. Which also meant the Time Lords existed, and if they were able to access every universe...

Andrew sighed, placing a hand on his head as he swayed on his bed. There was no use in worrying about such a trivial matter. For now, he had to focus on getting out of the Doctor's hands.

Tendrils of smoke curled up around him as he smoked another roll of marijuana, and he inhaled deeply. He felt guilty about it, but he knew it would at least dull the problems _for now_. When Andrew was younger, he would always tell himself that he would _never do drugs_. It was a complete, and utter lie. The first time he smoked marijuana, was when he was completely depressed in the dead of winter.

" _You are nothing, and that is all you ever will be_." He still remembered the words his potential crush had said to him, and it still hurt him to think about it. She had been absolutely beautiful, and she was always so kind...

" _You don't deserve to have anyone, let alone happiness._ " She had slapped him in the face, leaving him to fester in his own misery in the middle of the street. He had often wondered where it had all gone so wrong, when everything had gone so _terribly_ wrong. Of course, he believed her. Why wouldn't he? _Her_ parents had died. He couldn't even begin to understand the pain of that, and she let him know that with her bare hand. Her words of venom and spite had ultimately broken down his mental defenses, and he spent the night wrapped in his sheets. Alone.

When he finally met Shelly, he had approached her with recklessness, eager to escape his tortured life style in which he never had anybody. He was twenty when he first met her. It was almost their one year anniversary. If only they hadn't decided to go to Paris, maybe then they would've actually been able to have more...

But he was still confused. Did he actually ever, _really_ love Shelly? Sure, he still felt hurt when he found out from the Old Man that she died, but even so...

Perhaps she was just a placeholder for him? Something to devote things to, even though he didn't actually care about the person. No, scratch that. He _did_ care about Shelly, he just didn't think he was actually in love with her...

Andrew clenched his fists. It was all a big fucking joke. This was all just a big prank, and everybody would jump out and say "Surprise!" as soon as he stepped out of the room.

Deep down, he knew that wasn't true, but he liked to have at least one glimmer of hope.

The Doctor, while _appearing_ to be a good man, was really much more morally ambiguous to Andrew. Though, he really did seem to lean towards darkness at times, he also seemed to be... Though he hated to say it, _heroic_ as well.

He was the ultimate predator, luring innocent people to his nest, only for them to die sooner or later.

Andrew felt his anger return in spades. How dare the Doctor basically abduct him off the street and say that he could never leave?

He _will_ find a way out of this, and he _will_ get back to his family.

Even if he kills himself in the process.

"Atleast that would fucking teach him to mess with Andrew Evans, the prick." He muttered to himself, rage unfolding beneath his calm exterior.

Andrew watched as the previously pristine white ceiling was stained brown with the smoke from his marijuana, and he rolled the stuff between his fingers. At least it was a reflective trip. He didn't take a lot of it, because he wanted to save just a bit. For Joel.

Oh, Joel. If he was here, he'd call Andrew an idiot for just staying all cooped up in his room. Joel, in this situation, would've already marched his way up to the Doctor and punched him in the face. But, Andrew didn't like to deal with things that way. He liked to be a lot more... subtle.

Andrew clutched the last bit of marijuana to his chest, and let out a warbly breath. His last piece of Joel...

Suddenly, the door burst open, and the Doctor was standing there. A look of surprise crossed his face before concern and rage appeared both at the same time.

"...Marijuana?" The Doctor asked, though it was most likely rhetorical, judging from the way he was sniffing the air like a bloodhound.

"I can explain," Andrew began, though the Doctor shushed him, a scowl on his face. The Doctor crossed his arms, and blocked the doorway, the Oncoming Storm apparent on his face.

"Give. The rest. To me." The Doctor said through a clenched jaw, and Andrew unconsciously took a step back, clutching the last bit left to his chest.

 _Not Joel, please_.

"Please, I've got to keep this bit..." Andrew felt like crying.

The Doctor remained unfazed. "Nope. Give that to me, _now_."

Andrew, eyeing the doorway, took a chance. He bolted, legs lifting up, and...

He was suddenly held against the Doctor's chest, his last bit of marijuana plucked out his hands. The Doctor sniffed, before pulling him out into the corridor.

Andrew stood there guiltily for a bit, his eyes dropping down to the ground.

"Why? Why would you do marijuana?" The Doctor demanded to know in a hard tone, causing Andrew to wince.

"'Cause..." Andrew began, but didn't know how to actually talk about it. The Doctor raised an eyebrow, rubbing the back of his head.

"Andrew, even though I may seem like the most terrible person in the world right now, I actually do care about you-"

"You just met me!" Andrew yelled, wincing at the cracking in his voice. "How could you possibly, have any idea, what I'm like?" His voice had lowered to a near whisper, and his shoulders shook.

The Doctor sighed, before placing his hands on Andrew's shoulders.

"I used to be like you, when I was younger. Defiant, free, innocent. And then, things changed-"

"Yeah, I know. The Time War, the rise of the Daleks, blah blah _blah_. Same old story..." Andrew trailed off, cringing at the look of hurt in the Doctor's face at that sentence. Also, the fact that he just revealed he knew a little bit too much. _Damn_.

...

"How did you know that?" The Doctor demanded, his tone strained. His hands started to dig into Andrew's shoulders, and he struggled to get away.

"I asked, _how did you know that?!_ " The Doctor yelled, and Andrew let out a yelp when the Doctor suddenly shoved him against the ground. His face was pale, and he was shaking.

 _Is he... Insane? What's going on here? The Doctor never acted like this on the show. He was always rather touchy, but never outright aggressive like that... That wasn't the Doctor that he just saw. It was... something else._

"Anyways!" The Doctor suddenly announced, back to his jovial self.

"You're banned from any more marijuana, Andrew. I don't want to ever hear the word "drug" from you again."

Andrew blinked, suddenly confused as to how they got back to the subject of his marijuana. Wasn't the Doctor just... really angry?

"Also, we're going to go out for lunch. I'm sure you're as _starved_ as me." The Doctor grinned savagely, and Andrew felt his stomach lurch. This wasn't even like the fanfictions he had read about before. At least in those, the Doctor was still _mentally stable_. To hell with doing what the Old Man wanted, he was going to get _out of here_.

Andrew fought to resist a smile as he came up with a request for where they go for lunch. The Doctor didn't know he was from Canada yet, so hopefully this worked...

"Can we go eat in Toronto? I've always wanted to go." He lied through his teeth, fighting back his snickers when the Doctor readily agreed to it. It was the perfect plan.

They were going to eat in the Eaton Centre, which was the best location for his plan. Toronto had an underground network of pathways, all connecting parts of the city. It was practically an underground mall, one that was _always_ filled with people.

It was also a labyrinth if you weren't careful, but Andrew knew the layout pretty well. He _lived_ in Toronto, so he knew where to go.

He would run away as soon as the Doctor lost attention, and he would merge into the crowds, constantly switching as he traversed the wide pathways to reach the other side. The perfect plan.

But first...

"Hey Doctor, can I have that little bit of Marijuana back, please?"

The Doctor looked at him sharply, and Andrew swore he could hear a pin drop.

"I disposed of it already."

"But we were talking?" Andrew frowned, trying to remember when the Doctor turned around to do anything.

"I left halfway through, remember? Then, when I came back, you were as white as a sheet."

 _But... did that mean? Was it a hallucination, or was something else going on?_

"Are you okay, Andrew? You look a bit sick. I have medication for that, you know."

"I'm fine," He replied curtly, brushing hair out of his face. He had bigger issues to worry about than his own sanity at the moment. Such as, the fact he just lost a piece of Joel.

"You just threw out... The only possession I had left from my best friend..."  
The Doctor frowned. "Well, atleast he won't be doing drugs anymore..."

Andrew let out a strangled sob. "Doctor, he's dead."

Immediately, the Doctor's face changed to that of understanding, and he quickly moved to comfort Andrew.

"My friends are dead. They all died in that damned airplane explosion, the one that sent me... here." Andrew lifted his head a little, blinking to get rid of the tears starting to form in his eyes. He had to remain strong.

"It's okay, I understand. I know what it's like..." The Doctor shushed him, placing a comforting hand on Andrew's shoulder. His hand was... cold. Andrew grew uncomfortable under the sorrowful look the Doctor was giving him, and he quickly ducked down, moving down the hall a bit. He didn't feel like being pitied; he already had enough of that back in his own universe.

"Let's go." His voice was strained.

"...Okay." The Doctor said after a moments hesitation, before striding down the hall in a hurry towards the console room.

Andrew followed him a moment later, willing himself to forget what had just happened.

* * *

 _ **-Toronto: The Eaton Centre-**_

Several minutes later, they were both seated inside Toronto, Andrew nervously rubbing his hands together. This was it. A chance at escape, for freedom.

 _For freedom!_

The large atrium seemed to be darker than usual, he noted. Perhaps this universe had a light problem? He chuckled a bit internally, eyeing the Doctor who was currently glancing over the food court boards.

"Britain has much _better_ food than this," The Doctor sniffed, and Andrew found rage momentarily course through his veins. He sighed deeply, clenching his fists and unclenching them.

Why was he getting so worked up over what was an obvious joke? Perhaps he was just anxious to get out of there. Yes, that was it. He was _anxious_.

Though, it was a bit surreal to be sitting in a place he knew so well, with the _Doctor_. The Oncoming Storm, sitting at a foodcourt table. How humbling it must be.

"Oh, please. They don't have _good_ poutine like we do here." Andrew coughed a little, as the Doctor looked over at a flash mob.

Good thing he had aspirin in his pocket! Andrew quickly slipped some into the Doctor's drink, who looked back at him sharply seconds after he yanked his hand back.

 _That was close_.

"I've been meaning to ask you a question, Andrew." The Doctor's voice was unnervingly calm.

"What is this... question?" Andrew managed a forced smile. He was so close, now.

The Doctor tilted towards him, a grim look set upon his face. " _How do you know who I am_?"

Andrew froze, his hand hovering over his plate. "Did- didn't you ask me that earlier?"

A cruel smile appeared on the Doctor's voice, and his eyes narrowed. "I just thought that if I asked that again, I might get a different answer."

Andrew swallowed hard. This was way too difficult for him. If the Doctor catched him now... He couldn't bear to think of what may happen. But, he had to keep moving. He had to _leave_!

The Doctor plucked his glass off the table and, keeping eye-contact, started to chug the drink down.

 _Yes, yes, yes!_

Suddenly, the entire table was overturned as the Doctor clutched his throat, his face pale.

 _This was his chance!_ Andrew quickly dodged around the table and sprinted away through the foodcourt, ignoring the questioning looks people were giving him.

Little shops passed him by as he ran through the underground pathways, the bleak white lights above flickering. He stumbled through crowds, and suddenly...

 _ **Eureka!**_

Tinfoil could act as a shield against the Sonic Screwdriver!

Swears spilled out of his mouth as he quickly stole a bunch from a stand convienently placed in the middle of the corridor, he stumbled his way through the remaining pathways.

He wrapped himself up in the crinkling mess (why did they have to be so loud?), and he finally climbed the staircase into daylight. _Freedom_.

Andrew gasped in air immediately, before storming down the street in a whirlwind of tinfoil, greasy hair, and worn out shoes.

He ran across half the city in _thirty minutes_. Wearing tinfoil.

Andrew was surprised the Doctor hadn't found him yet, maybe the tinfoil _actually worked_!

He was determined to leave the city, and leave the city he shall do. There was a whole country out there, one where he could forever hide in the wilderness, away. Away, from the Doctor.

 _If only he knew how much worse things would get._

* * *

 **A** **/N: Hello! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Oh yeah, LEAVE A REVIEW! I want some constructive criticism. I want to know if you guys _are actually enjoying this fanfiction_. Tell me what I'm doing wrong. Please!**

 **Oh, and... get ready for the next chapter. It's going to be a bumpy ride! Heh, heh, heh!**


	4. A Year Away

**Chapter Four**

* * *

 _ **-Ontario: North of Toronto-**_

Andrew was cautious, creeping along the narrow streets of Toronto, jumping at every shadow. He admitted, he was probably too irrational when he slipped the Doctor something that could kill him.

If the Doctor caught him now, there would be hell to pay. Andrew knew that.

And so he spent the rest of the day slowly making his way furthur north through the city, stopping every now and then to rest. The red brick buildings, and the harsh and bleak industrial factories did nothing to improve his mood. This universe was so _different_ from his own. For one, the colours weren't as... vibrant. In his universe, the colours would "jump out" at him, almost like they were alive. Here though, they were dull. Flat. Almost like how they looked inside the television show.

"I've just got to keep moving..." He grunted as he continued walking through the streets.

Gradually, the buildings became smaller as he exited the city, and he found himself walking inside farmland. Utterly exhausted.

He felt at home though, as tired as he may be. The yellow fields stretching as far as the eye can see, the green rolling hills far in the distance. He could smell the corn in the air, the sweet acrid smell of apples wafting on the breeze. The brilliant blue sky above, dotted with the occasional cloud. He heard the cicada's in the air, and the cry of seagulls far above.

For a second he allowed himself to forget what situation he was in...

But that only lasted for a minute before his stomach growled loudly, and Andrew moaned.

He wished he bought some food somewhere, but... The apples nearby would have to do.

Slowly but surely, he crept up to the small wooden fence and scaled it, ignoring the throbbing in his temples as his feet touched the ground at the other side.

Ah, the sweet smell of fruit!

He picked one off the tree, hissing as it made large snapping noise. Hopefully the owner would think it was just an animal.

Nobody showed up to scold him.

* * *

 _ **-Ontario: Two Weeks After-**_

He continued like this for a while, creeping along from farm to farm, eating their fruits and vegetables. He could at least consider himself vegetarian, now.

He couldn't exactly get a job, not when his resume was in a whole other universe. And he couldn't just create a new one, not when you had to pay to use the computers at the library.

But he felt proud. He had successfully escaped from the Doctor, unlike all those other fanfiction's where the characters would fail at every attempt. Briefly, nightmarish thoughts arose of the Doctor lying dead in the foodcourt, and he shook his head. The universe wasn't dying yet. Besides, it had been two weeks. He was sure that the Doctor probably gave up on searching for Andrew.

 _Serves him right, messing with me._ Andrew sniffed, feeling sick as he swayed back and forth. There was no point on focusing on the Doctor. The past was the past.

Hopefully, the Doctor wasn't tracking him...

"Hello! How are you today!" A young priest greeted him as he approached a church in a small town, the priest's white robes dull in the sunlight. Again, another strange difference from his universe. The sun wasn't as bright in this universe...

"I'm good, thank you." Andrew smiled softly as he glanced up at the small church, his eyes sparkling as he realised how... beautiful it looked.

Large, gothic spires rose up to adorn the sky, and the gray stonework contrasted greatly against the green forest behind it.

That was when he spotted the Old Man, standing solemnly in the doorway to the church, his eyes infinitely ancient and somber.

Andrew strode towards him, curiosity coursing through him.

"Hello, Andrew." The Old Man gave him a frown, his eyes dark and inquisitive.

"Why are... you here?" Andrew asked him, rubbing his shoulder. The Old Man's face darkened, and Andrew was suddenly reminded of the insane Doctor again.

"Because you have abandoned the Doctor, instead of helping him like your task was." The Old Man spoke softly and calmly, however his eyes stormed and swirled with rage.

Andrew let out a strangled laugh, and he covered his mouth. "I abandoned the Doctor because he's an insane... thing. I don't even know what that was back there. Is he bipolar? Because I think he is."

The Old Man shook a finger. "I must let you know, Andrew Evans. The Doctor is still alive, even after the great betrayal you performed. And he is searching for you at this very moment. But, fear not, for it shall take a year in your perspective before he finally reaches you."

Andrew grew cold at this statement. "He's... what? Searching for me?"

The Old Man smiled cruelly, and Andrew gulped. "He is driven purely by blind rage and pain at this point, Andrew. I think it will do well to train in the art of weaponry, just in case of any... fatalities." The Old Man winked at him, and Andrew gasped.

The Doctor... full of rage. And pain. A deadly combination for anybody, Andrew thought as he clutched the sides of his shirt.

"I... I can just avoid him. I will train to be stronger than him, I truly will! He can't find me if I shield myself with tinfoil again!" Andrew swore as he swayed back and forth on his feet.

The wind picked up briefly, and the sky darkened. The Old Man looked pale under the dark light, and Andrew suddenly felt an eerie sense of calm.

"One year, Andrew. Be prepared. In June of 2008, you shall be found by the Doctor again. It will only have been a few hours for him... But a whole year for you!" The Old Man smiled a toothy smile at Andrew, and he suddenly felt uneasiness. "Have fun, Andrew Evans. Even in the darkest of times, there will always be the one pillar of light remaining. Remember... Me... Andrew..."

The Old Man faded away, leaving Andrew alone.

Andrew left the town only a few minutes after.

* * *

 _ **-Northern Ontario: Sudbury-**_

Five months later, Andrew was splayed out infront of a Sudbury hotel, head held in hands.

He was so tired. But, he was stronger. Much, much stronger.

He had stolen a gun from a farm only two weeks before, and also had stolen a bunch of bullets. He swore to only use it in self defense, and also against the Doctor. If he provoked him.

He only had _seven months left_. Andrew didn't know what to do about that. Once the Doctor caught him, he would be in hell once again.

Andrew lazily got up and dusted himself up, stretching his back. He looked like a homeless man now. No longer a hippie.

He glanced at himself in a reflection as he passed by one before, and he was appalled at how... _thin_ he looked. He was pale, dirty, and looked much _older_ than he usually does. His hair had grown down to just below his shoulders, and his finger nails had been continuously chewed off. He didn't have nail clippers.

"Get out of my way, scum!" A business-man barked as he strode past in his fancy shoes and suit, and Andrew felt annoyance towards the man. He would've been like that, if he hadn't been pulled through to a different universe.

Andrew had an actual future planned out, and then this happened. Pure, utter chaos.

Briefly, Andrew felt a bit of pain as he remembered his parents.

 _"I love you so much... Remember that... Even in the darkest of times, please remember that me and your father love you. We will never abandon you. We will never betray you. We will always be there for you..." His mother wailed one evening._

 _He was only a teenager then, and as usual, he had just shrugged it off as another one of his mother's philisophical rants..._

Andrew felt tears fill his eyes as he realized that his parents weren't there for him anymore. Nobody was. He was completely alone, treated like scum, and to top that off...

"Your own existence is a sin," The Old Man had drawled one evening as Andrew returned to his little hobo spot, his eyes bearing no hint of the warmth from before.

The Old Man... he had seemed so nice at first, welcoming. But now... he was different. Cold, calculating.

A person he had considered his only friend in this universe, practically dismissed him.

As usual, Andrew felt rage towards the Old Man. Was this all he was meant to do? Play along for the Old Man's purposes, however sincere they may _seem_ to be? To be a simple piece in a game of chess, being moved continuously.

Was he going to die at the hands of the Doctor? Was he going to be disemboweled, burned alive, dissected, suffocate...?

If he went with the Doctor, that's what would eventually happen. Death, and pain. Heartbreak, and anger. It's a never-ending cycle with the Doctor, all those companions... Each and every one of them eventually leaving, most of them in tragic ways. A horrific crime.

Andrew swallowed his tears, and continued on his way.

He didn't need the Old Man, he didn't need the Doctor, and he _definitely_ didn't need their pity.

If only he actually believed that.

* * *

 _ **-Ontario: Sault St. Marie-**_

It was finally June, 2008. Andrew had trained in weaponry, also having stolen a large knife and tucking it in his bag. He was prepared for when the Doctor would show up... he knew he was. No, he _thought_ he was.

"Are you okay?" A young woman asked him in the bar, her brown hair falling down behind her back and cascading in wondrous beauty.

"Er... yes?" He answered, glancing at her eyes. They were melancholic, filled with depression and anxiety. And yet, there was a little hint of recognition in her eyes, as if she recognized Andrew.

"That's... good. I guess I'll just go and... run." She gave him a small smile and a wave, before turning on her heel and sprinting away. Andrew scratched his head at the terminology. Was she... running _away_ from something?

He could hear a distant tearing sound, and whistling. He noticed a soft blue light emanating from outside, and then... nothing.

Gasping in shock, he stumbled his way outside into the pouring rain, bewildered when the girl was nowhere to be seen. There was only a soft burning smell, a smell that reminded him of Time and the universe.

 _No_. _No. No_.

If he could smell something that reminded him of Time, then that must mean that...

He drew in air as he saw a shadow approach him nearby, the sillhouete suspiciously in the form of the tenth doctor. It limped, jerking and dragging a dead leg behind it.

 _Oh my God, he's rabid!_

Andrew, fearing the worst, turned his head around, only to face... a drunk man.

He mentally chided himself for expecting the Doctor to be around every corner. It was June 1st, for crying out loud!

"I'll just go back to my small apartment..." He sighed, spinning on his heel and walking slowly down the street.

Thank God he was able to get a job. With the money he earned, he was able to afford a tiny apartment in the ghetto of Sudbury. Sure, it wasn't much to look out, let alone live in. But, he had a roof over his head and food on his table. That was all that mattered.

He was excited of the possibilities for the future. He could move up in careers, and gain enough money to one day a buy a bigger home.

He could get married, have kids, and perhaps even have a large family.

Maybe he could even be famous one day!

Andrew grinned, feeling elated as he stopped right outside his apartment.

Rain still poured down around him, but it did nothing to dampen his mood. The only thing that mattered now, was that he felt fulfilled. That was all he wanted. To feel... _happy_.

He needed a smoke.

Withdrawing a cigarrette from his bag, he took out his lighter. Seconds later, he was breathing in the exhilarating fumes of cancer and tar. _Eh_.

Even though he still felt a little bit of guilt, most of it was gone now. He didn't have anybody telling him what to do anymore, so obviously he could smoke without consequences-

" _ **Andrew,**_ " A deep guttural voice sounded behind him, and Andrew yelped in alarm. The voice was very familiar...

" _ **I thought I told you never to do drugs again...**_ " Andrew could feel the venom emanating from _his_ voice, and he gasped as he felt a strong hand clamp down on his shoulder.

Shaking, Andrew slowly turned to stare right into the face of rage itself. The Tenth Doctor. His face was curled up into a sinister grin, but his eyes were filled with anger and malice. In his hand, he grasped a syringe, the end of it long and glistening with _lord knows what_.

He was wearing the same brown suit he had been wearing in the food court from that fateful day a year before, and Andrew screamed as the Doctor growled and plunged the syringe deep into his neck.

" _ **Oh, I'm never letting you out of my sight again, Andrew. Nor am I letting you slip any more aspirin into my drinks!**_ "

Andrew could only gasp as he felt himself begin to fall asleep.

The Doctor hummed, grinning savagely as he rocked back on heels. " _ **Oh, didn't I mention? This drug will make you fall asleep, but when you wake up, you will be entirely paralyzed! Are you ready for some... tests, Andrew?**_ "

The Doctor had gone completely mental. Completely insane. Completely... he didn't even know what else to describe him.

 _If only Andrew had prepared more..._

* * *

 **A/N: Hello, all of you fine readers! Get ready for some intensity next chapter (as well as insanity). I'm surprised I've been able to update this as often as I do. Usually it takes me two weeks between updates. But, then again, I guess this is special!**

 **Oh yeah, and... Two questions for you guys, just to see how you feel about everything so far.**

 **How do you like my portrayal of the Doctor so far? There IS a reason why I'm not doing ANYTHING in his perspective. In my opinion, an alien should stay alien. He shouldn't have the same thought processes as a human. Which is why I didn't give the perspective of him in this fanfiction, because I want the readers to share Andrew's confusion over the Doctor's constantly flipping moods (maybe he's having an alien pregnancy or something?).**

 **Also, second question; how do you honestly feel about Andrew as a character? I realize now, when actually writing this fanfiction, that he acts a bit like an asshole at times.**

 **I look forward to your thoughts. ~soultrain21.**


	5. Drifting Through Barriers

**Chapter Five**

 **WARNING: Descriptions of graphic violence ahead. You have been warned. ~soultrain21.**

* * *

 _ **-TARDIS: Med-Bay-**_

Andrew awoke slowly to a harsh, grating sound. The TARDIS. Why did it sound so... sick? Disturbed? Horrified?

Oh... no.

Andrew felt his heart-rate quicken as he tried to move his arms and realized he was strapped down to a medical bed. With no sheets.

He winced as the straps roughly rubbed against his skin in his attempts to move from his position.

" _Oh, how good_! You're awake!" The Doctor cheerfully said nearby in a monotone voice, and Andrew shuddered.

"Why the fuck am I strapped down to a bed?" He angrily spat out, muscles tensed up.

The Doctor laughed but never let his eyes leave Andrew's. "Oh, I think you know the reason why. You see, after you pulled that little stunt with the aspirin back in that foodcourt, I was dying. And so, you know... I had to... fix myself up!" He grinned, and _his teeth radiated red_.

"What the hell is... that?" Andrew asked, sick to his stomach.

The Doctor let his smile drop to a frown, and he crossed his arms. "Oh, this silly old red stuff? That's just the aftermath of what the aspirin did to me! Oh man, was there a lot of bloodstains I had to clean up!" The Doctor crossed the room and paused infront of Andrew's bed, glancing over his strapped down body.

He smiled wickedly, before continuing. "But, you see, _my_ dilemma is that I'm missing one teensy weensy ingredient for me to be fully _alive_ again. Tell me, Andrew... What would you do if you had two hearts you absolutely needed to survive, and then one of them just stopped working... What would you do?"

Andrew felt his heart jump in his throat (no pun intended), and he weakly answered; "...Go to the doctor's office?"

The Doctor leaned in close to Andrew's face, and- while still smiling that horrific grin -said "Oh, Andrew. _You're in the Doctor's office right now_!"

Andrew felt himself quiver as the Doctor stood up straight again. "Oh. My. God. You mean you're going to... Cut out my heart?"

The Doctor laughed, a deep, guttural and primal sound, before leaning close to his ear. " _Yes. And I will enjoy every second of it._ " The Doctor opened his mouth this time, showing his blood stained teeth.

"What are you?! You aren't the Doctor! The Doctor would never do something as cruel as this! You're just going to... kill me and throw me in a supernova or something!" Andrew shrieked, struggling against his restraints.

The Doctor hummed, before using his sonic to tighten the straps. "Andrew! Don't struggle. Oh, and by the way..." He cracked his knuckles. "Doctor Who is an interesting name for a television show, don't you think?"

Andrew gasped, his eyes growing wide. "How did you find that out?!"

"Oh, I simply searched your mind while you were asleep. My, my. A whole universe of psychic energy? What fun!"

Andrew gritted his teeth. "You... you leave my universe alone! You hear? It's none of your concern there!"

The Doctor hummed again. "Oh, but I think it is Andrew. You see, Andrew, if that universe isn't properly protected and contained, there could be _terrible_ side effects."

"My universe has been perfectly fine for all those years."

The Doctor swiped his tongue over his lips, and Andrew shrivelled in disgust. "Oh, but something could happen. A Dalek could land there, perhaps even a cyberman. You see, it's my responsibility to contain it... but enough talk of that. Now, it's time for your medical procedure!"

Andrew felt his face go pale as the Doctor approached him with a knife, still grinning wickedly.

"Oh, it's going to be okay. You're a _man_ , you don't need anesthesia, you're perfectly strong!" The Doctor yelled the last part as he plunged the knife deep into Andrew's chest.

Andrew screamed, feeling his blood spurt out from his chest. The Doctor was having a _complete emotional breakdown_. He was having a rage-induced freakout.

The Doctor laughed again before pulling the knife out slowly, causing Andrew to grimace in pain as the knife grazed his interior organs and nerves.

 _He was going to die here! At the hands of the Doctor! This wasn't the Doctor! Since when did the Doctor use such primitive ways of surgery? Ohmigosh, ohmigosh, he's coming again-_

Andrew felt a scream tear itself from his throat as the knife slid along his chest slowly, opening his stomach.

 _He doesn't want to die! He doesn't want to die! HE DOESN'T WANT TO DIE! Oh my God, is that a syringe? Lord, help! No, no, NO! He's about to-_

"Just a little insurance, to keep you awake through this entire procedure!"

Andrew could hear himself sob, but he couldn't actually feel it anymore.

 _This is it. This is his death. To die because he was a stupid little idiot who decided to slip aspirin to an obviously emotionally unstable person. This is what he deserved. This was his punishment, for his sins. What would death be like? Who knew. He hoped there would be an afterlife. If there was nothing, than what would be the point to all this? He could see his whole life now; his first day at elementary school, his first crush; the first piece of artwork he made, the first time he watched a little show called Doctor Who. How ironic, a piece of fiction he used to find enjoyment in was killing him. Man, he remembered the fanfictions as well. All of them, even... What's that light? Coming closer? Is this death? Is that... an angel? An angel! Oh, it's so beautiful! He wants to touch the angel! But wait... the angel is going away. It's fading. He doesn't want to be alone anymore. He wants to feel something. He wants to feel loved again. What does love even feel like anymore? It's dark here. So, very, very dark. He doesn't like the dark. What was he even thinking anymore...? What is this? Where was this? What is this? What was he feeling? Who was he? He didn't know who he was. But now... he could just rest. He could sleep. Finally, sleep. Go to sleep. Yes, that's it. Let the darkness envelop himself. Let himself fall victim to that infinite black... Feel the cold surround him... Feel the dull pain in his chest slowly fade..._

 _Forever... for now._

* * *

 _ **-The UNIX Home Base-**_

Andrew opened his eyes once again to see a familiar brown haired girl standing infront of him.

He was alive. Away from the Doctor. Somehow.

He started to move, but hissed when his stomach seized in pain.

"Don't make sudden movements like that, it'll upset your stitches." The girl gruffly said, moving to a monitor near the small bed he was lying on. She cast an inquisitive glance in his direction before returning her focus to the monitor.

Andrew could only nod in response, his mouth dry. He glanced around the room, trying to get his bearings. It was small, slightly dirty, but looked a lot more welcoming then that dreaded TARDIS med-bay. Pastel white walls surrounded them in all four directions, each topped with a green line. An old flourescent light flickered on and off above them, casting dancing shadows around them. The bed he was lying on was nice though, beige with a small quilt at the end. Next to it was the black monitor, listing off seemingly random strings of numbers.

"...What is this? Where am I?" Andrew finally found the will to speak. The girl sighed, turning her attention to him once again. He met her once before, in that bar from before he was caught by the Doctor again. Her hair was dirtier than last time, though... What was this?

"I'll try to explain this as detailed as I can, so please pay attention." Her voice wavered slightly, and he saw her lips press together. "I saved you from the Doctor back there, Andrew Evans." She began, and Andrew opened his mouth to question where she got his name, but she shushed him. "I got your name from extensive research and experience in the field, Andrew. Though, I must admit; I'm surprised this version of you actually fell unconscious." She smiled at him, and he was suddenly confused.

"I'm sorry, _version_ of me?" He asked her, slightly rubbing his temples with his fingers. She looked sheepish suddenly, and she rubbed her hands together.

"Er... yes. Version of you." She nodded her head, and he was suddenly reminded of the similar habit Shelly used to do. "I guess I'll have to explain that, so I may as well explain that now-"

"As soon as you say your name." Andrew demanded, daring her to speak her name to him. Was she an ally of him? Or an enemy? Because she sure as hell seemed like an ally.

She seemed hesitant for a moment, but finally relented. "Chelsea. Chelsea Berbrook."

It was a nice name, he had to admit. "Of course. Okay, now you can explain."

Chelsea smiled sweetly at him, before opening her mouth again. "Okay. First, I'll explain my experience. It'll make things a lot easier to explain later, yeah?"

Andrew nodded.

"Okay. So, just like you, I was in my own universe. I was going camping with my family at a small park in Britain, near London. When suddenly, I was pulled through to the Doctor's universe. Of course, I was absolutely shocked. How could fiction be real, I asked? And then, somehow, that universe's version of the Doctor found me. Hunted me down. Dragged me by my hair back to his TARDIS. All the while, that mysterious Old Man was talking to me in my dreams..." She trailed off, and Andrew gasped.

"The Old Man? He was talking to me too! Also in my dreams!" Andrew suddenly grew quiet as Chelsea looked at him somberly.

"We don't know what _it_ is. All we know is that the Old Man is a _very_ negative frequency, or perhaps a creature... Feeding off of other's paranoia and anger. We know for sure that the "Old Man" isn't actually human. It doesn't even live in any universe! It lives inside the void, but that's all we know- for now."

Andrew scratched his head. "When you say 'We', do you mean there's more people like you? Others like us? People who have been pulled through to the Doctor's universe?"

Chelsea grimaced and sighed. "Unfortunately, you got it perfectly. But, you were missing a letter in that final word there. It's " _universe's_ ". You see, every one of the other's in this facility were pulled through to different universe's, with different versions of the Doctor. I'm sure you know of alternate universe's by now, anyways."

Andrew nodded again, opening his mouth to speak. "Yeah. The Doctor's universe was different in little ways from my own, like the colours being different or the smells of things being different."

Chelsea shook her head, and put her hands on her hips. "Yeah, same as mine was. Kind of. But anyways, after a while, I escaped. Then I found the Inventor. He lived in some seaside village somewhere in Britain. He was able to... unlock my abilities." She rubbed her shoulder.

"Abilities?" Andrew echoed, glancing up at her. Her eyes were solemn and depressing.

She sighed, leaning against the wall near his bed. "I have the ability to open holes in reality and walk through to other realities." She raised an eyebrow at his astonished look.

He was suddenly cut off from speaking when she said; "And don't even think of asking me for a lift back to your own universe. For some reason, our home universes are blocked off. Their frequency's are heavily guarded, encrypted if you must."

Andrew ran his hands through his hair. This was way too intense for his tastes. "But... why? Why would our universe's be blocked off?"

Chelsea's face was grim. "Nobody knows. Everybody here at this facility, we have a theory that it was the Old Man who blocked them off from us. It's a one way ticket. You can only go into the Doctor's universe. You can't go back."

Andrew paused for a moment. "I still have a question though... Why collect all these different people?"

Her face grew darker, and Andrew gulped. "We're not "collecting" them. We saved them. From their version's of the Doctor. Andrew, there are billions of alternate universe's out there. Alternate timelines, things that should be, things that should never be. My universe was a timeline that thankfully didn't end in tragedy like most others."

Andrew swallowed, his voice wavering as he repeated: "Tragedy, like most others?"

Chelsea nodded, pushing herself off the wall. "Yes. Most timeline's are doomed, to end in tragedy and bloodshed. Your timeline would've been doomed too if I didn't swoop in and save you from the Doctor."

Andrew felt a quiet fluttering of his heart, and he smiled. "Thank you, for that."

She smiled back at him weakly, and said; "It was no problem..."

...

"Why save me from the Doctor?" Andrew asked, and she sighed.

"You see, Andrew. You have the most timeline's out of all of them to end in tragedy, and I was wondered why. So, I simply decided to investigate, and lo and behold, I found out why. The reason? You were stubborn to a fault, instead of being timid and automatically trusting like all the others who had died. That is a valuable asset to us."

"To answer your question from earlier, the reason we are collecting so many people is because we need them to fight against whatever force is pulling innocent people from their universes. We don't know the true reason whatever the thing is doing it for, but we do suspect that it has been the Old Man pulling the strings this whole time. It makes sense."

Andrew nodded, about to ask another question, when suddenly-

 _ **RING RING RING RING**_

Chelsea swore, sprinting back over to the monitor. "Looks like your Doctor is trying to follow through the small hole I left behind when I picked you up. Oh, no. This is bad. If he gets into this facility, who knows the damage he can do...!"

She quickly swung a lever, and typed lines of codes into the console.

Andrew peered around her at the monitor from his vantage point on the bed, and saw her light-speed hands working magic.

She finally pressed a button and sighed, wiping her brow as she collapsed on a small chair. "That should keep him on a wild goose chase for a while. We don't want him at this facility, oh Lord no. He would probably kill everyone here out of pure hatred or something."

Andrew frowned. "Why does the Doctor end up killing people in most of these timeline's."

Chelsea glanced at him, her brown hair falling over her face. "We don't know. All we know is that he is very different than how he is portrayed in the show. In these universes, however, he is twisted, downright insane. And also, never once does he mention Rose or any of his former companions."

Andrew nodded again, feeling weary as he layed there on the bed, trying to absorb the information. Alternate universes. An Old Man with ulterior motives. A corrupted version of the Doctor. Was he in science fiction weekly? Was this a novel?

Chelsea stood up suddenly, appearing taller as she stretched. "Well, I'm going to go get dinner. I'll bring you something to eat while you heal up," She eyed his wounds, her eyes glistening. "And please, don't accidentally fall off the bed. We _hate_ dealing with people like that." She strode away, her heels clacking against the ground, her brown hair swaying behind her.

"Oh, and-" she glanced behind at him, her eyes warm "-welcome to the UNIX, Andrew Evans."

The UNIX, huh.

 _What a catchy name._

* * *

 **A/N: Hello! How did you guy's enjoy this chapter? It certainly had a lot going on inside it, and now the plot is rolling a lot faster! And don't worry, Andrew's Doctor will be coming back to find him again. Oh, you know he would. He's still missing his heart, you know! Oh, and, just to clear up some stuff incase you're confused: Chelsea had seen Andrew die before in different timeline's. Countless different timeline's. The thing is, he lives only if he falls unconscious at the right moment. Because then Chelsea was able to swoop in and grab him, because he had to be asleep for a dimension transfer like that to work.**

 **Oh, and: We will also be meeting Chelsea's Doctor later down the line, hope you're excited for that!**

 **I'll probably post again in the next couple of day's, so yeah. Bye! ~soultrain21.**


	6. Gazing At Parallels

**Chapter Six**

* * *

 _ **-The UNIX Home Base-**_

Chelsea returned some time later holding two plates of food in her hands, and the smell of freshly cooked meat entered Andrew's nostrils.

Damn, he was hungry. He hadn't realized just how much until now.

She pursed her lips upon seeing him struggle to lift up his cup.

"I didn't realize how pitifully weak you actually are right now," She sniffed, Andrew groaning in response.

"I'm still recovering from the Doctor's psychotic break, you know. He almost killed me! Cutting into my... stomach like that." He wrapped his arms around himself, expelling a shuddery breath. Chelsea looked down at him, concern furrowing her brow.

"I know how it must be. I was also in shock when my Doctor first tried to kill me. It was after I tried hurting one of his allys in an attempt to escape. You know what he did?"

Her voice was deadly silent, and Andrew let out a soft, "What?"

She glared at the wall. "He tied me up to an examination table and said that I was too "dangerous" to be allowed to live. He said he needed to examine my brain for chances of "artron overdose." I knew it was bullshit he was spewing, he just _wanted to kill me_. And then, he pulled some stunt saying that anesthesia would disrupt his results, and so I had to be fully awake while he _cut into my brain_..."

Andrew almost choked on the meat he was shovelling into his mouth, and he swallowed hard. "...So, what are we going to do now? I mean, you've collected me, that's great and all, but..." He trailed off.

Chelsea cracked a smile. "What are we going to do, huh? I tell you what we're going to do. First, we're going to get you set up inside your own room here at the UNIX headquarters. And then, you will get your task."

Huh. A task. What fun. "When will I be able to go to my room, then? I'm tired of waiting around in this hospital bed."

She smiled even bigger this time, and indicated for him to follow her. Andrew, curious, slipped out of bed. He was surprised he was able to do it so easily, when before he was in pain when he woke up.

Chelsea's heels clacked on the tiled floors as they crossed the building to get to his room, and she winked at him when she fished out a key from her bag.

"This will be your new home, Andrew Evans. Or, at least until we find a way to get back to our own universes."

He managed to let out a small smile as he glanced around the room. It was actually quite cozy, unlike how he pictured the room to be in his mind. A small fireplace sat at one end of the room, and his bed was wooden with a red quilt thrown over it.

"It's actually quite nice, thank you!" He grinned at Chelsea, who gave him a nod of her head.

"Despite what you may think, we are still civilized people. Just because we are... refugees from other universes doesn't mean we can't live in comfort." She hestitated at the word "refugees", but he understood her discomfort. They were victims of chance. Of fate's cruel hand. The Old Man... he did this. He did this to all of them, he realized. Dragged them out of their own homes to just be pawns in an orchestration, to be his loyal servants. And then the Doctor... what was going on? Why would he be so insane in these universes? Perhaps the Old Man was affecting things?

He heard laughter down the hall, and he buried those thoughts at the back of his mind. They were safe. _He_ was safe. From the Doctor. From the Old Man. From everything.

"So then, what's my task?" Andrew rubbed his hands together.

Chelsea sighed, shoving her hands in her pockets. "This is the part you're not going to like. You see, for us to function as a headquarters, we have to travel to these other universes in order to see which people can be saved. We also have to see if there are any openings into our original universes. Basically, your first task will be observation. Going into another universe to observe how the Doctor treats another... unfortunate soul."

Andrew shivered at the last part, and he nodded slightly. Managing a weak smile, he asked; "When do I begin?"

She smirked back at him. "Oh, you're not doing your first all alone, you depressing guy. You're going to observe _with me_."

* * *

 _ **-The UNIX Home Base: Universal Room-**_

"This is our universal room, Andrew Evans." Chelsea announced smugly as she threw open the doors to the large chamber, Andrew ogling at the immense size of it. It was amazing. As far as the eye could see, in every direction, there were gateways to other universes. He could see space itself rippling around each different hole, and he swallowed hard. If the Doctor found this place... he shuddered to think.

Chelsea ran over to a man near the back wall and squealed, hugging the man. Andrew felt the brief clench of his heart, but it passed as quickly as it came.

"Andrew, this is Enoch Tybridge, he is our main universal engineer!" She thumped him on the chest, cackling when he doubled over in pain.

"It's... nice to meet you." He managed to sputter out as he grasped Andrew's hand, kneeling over on the ground.

"I didn't stab you, Enoch." She rolled her eyes at the melodramatic display, turning around at the monitor next to the hole.

She peered at the small keyboard in distaste, before spinning on her heel to face Enoch with a scowl on her face. "I thought I told you to fix this damned gateway?"

Enoch seemed to shrink back in fear. "Well... I was going to do that today?"

"I told you to do it two months ago."

This caught Andrew's attention. He snapped his head around, staring into Chelsea's eyes. "How long have you guys been stuck here?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Five years. Why?"

Five years. Five years they had been stuck in another universe. Andrew felt fear grip him. Were they all going to be stuck there until they died? And what about the obviously noticeable children running around? Were they going to die in this very same facility as well?

Chelsea sighed, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Andrew, please relax. We're going to get through this. Anyways, with you here now... we can do anything."

She grasped his hand and fixed a metal bracelet on it. Andrew felt his head spinning.

"What... what is this?"

Chelsea glanced at him. "This is just incase we get seperated. With it on, you can still get transported back to these headquarters. Think of it like Rose Tyler's dimensional cannon, basically."

Oh, of course.

...

"Let's go into this universe." Chelsea tugged him infront of the dimensional portal, and Andrew gulped. She smiled at him, before stepping through the hole. Hesitating for only a second, Andrew followed suit.

* * *

 _ **-Doctor Universe #78863: London-**_

They stood in a grassy field, under an endless gray sky. It seemed to stretch on forever, covering all of the land.

A cold breeze blew through Andrew, and he shivered, pulling his sweater tighter around him.

" _Let go of me!_ " A young teenage girl wailed nearby, tugging at an alternate Doctor's hands. His face was locked in a stern glare, his eyes stone cold as he stared down at the young girl.

"Ah, young Amelia Derhurst." Chelsea whispered to him, her tone somber.

Andrew glanced back at her, curious. "What happened to her, in the end?"

Chelsea stared up at him, frowning. "Disemboweled in the depths of his TARDIS."

Andrew gulped, slowly turning his gaze back to the scene unfolding infront of them.

" _You know I can't do that, Amelia. You're my responsibility, and I can't let you go._ "

Andrew could see Amelia's hopes destroyed from even this distance, and he swallowed again.

" _But why? Why do you need_ _me_ _so much? What could I possibly do?_ "  
The alternate Doctor grinned savagely, and he rocked back on his heels. " _Oh, Amelia. Sweet, naive Amelia. You could destroy everything. And you know what I do to those who destroy things, Amelia?_ "

Amelia shook her head, and the alternate Doctor leaned in. " _I punish them._ "

Andrew felt like marching over to the alternate Doctor and punching his head in, but Chelsea kept a firm grip on his arm.

"We can't interfere. Andrew, you know when I was talking about doomed timelines? This one is doomed. To end in tragedy and bloodshed."  
Andrew shook his head. "But it doesn't have to! We could save her!"

Chelsea pursed her lips. "Actually, I'm afraid we can't. We've already saved one version of her."

Andrew felt like he was slapped in the face. "What do you mean? So, you just save one version of each person and just leave their other versions in the dirt? To die?"

Chelsea glared at him. "To rescue more than one version of them would be to cause a major paradox. You should know this."

Andrew crossed his arms. "Well, I'm afraid I don't."

...

" _You monster! You horrible, monster! I trusted you! And you... you... killed him! You killed my boyfriend!_ " Amelia screamed nearby, and Andrew felt his heart fill with pain. She was suffering. Could Chelsea not see that?

The alternate Doctor glared at her. " _Stop this insolent squabbling at once, Amelia. I gave him one chance, and he blew it. I'm not one for second chances._ "

Andrew clenched his fists, and Chelsea placed a hand on his shoulder. "Andrew, if it's any comfort... she does stab the Doctor multiple times later in her timeline."

Andrew turned to her with a small smile. "Well, at least she fights back against him, right?"

Chelsea managed a weak grin, before gesturing back over at the fight. "But, the thing is Andrew... she was going through heartbreak. She just lost everybody she ever loved, and then the Doctor latched onto her, saying she could never leave. Her boyfriend died a horrible death, Andrew. He was dissected by the Doctor himself, and had his organs hung up above him. Pretty gruesome way to die, isn't it?"

Andrew swallowed. "Why does the Doctor use such... primitive ways of surgery?"

Chelsea looked at him, grim. "Never say that. You don't want to know what happens to the people who get psychic surgery in other timelines. Imagine perpetually burning and freezing at the same time. Mix that with the blunt feel of a knife slamming against your heart, and you've got psychic surgery."

Andrew stared at her. "How did the Doctor get so, terribly messed up? From the Old Man?"

Chelsea lowered her gaze. "That's another thing we're trying to find out from these observations. Trying to deduce how everything goes wrong in every timeline. We've already decided that in _your_ timeline, everything went wrong the moment you stepped into the TARDIS' medbay and lashed out at him."

Andrew shuddered at the memory, remembering the Doctor's threats whispered in his ear, and he subconsciously wrapped his arms even tighter around himself.

...

" _I hate you. You mean nothing to me, Doctor..._ " Amelia's voice drifted down from the centre of the field.

Chelsea's face broke out in a wicked grin, and she raised her hands. "Ohh, here it comes!"

The anguished scream came from the Doctor as he was stabbed in the chest by Amelia, and Andrew almost felt like jumping in glee. Chelsea, however raised her finger to her lips, and gestured for him to be quiet.

" _Oh, Amelia. You really shouldn't have done that. You see, I don't like it when people defy me. Guess what, Amelia?_ "

" _What?_ " Amelia spat at him.

The Doctor glared with all the might of the Oncoming Storm. " _It's time for some 'surgery'_ ".

Andrew watched, horrified, as Amelia was knocked unconscious and dragged away by her hair back to what he assumed was this Doctor's TARDIS.

Chelsea tugged on his arm, and Andrew glanced at her. "We should go. This was only a first time observation for you. Next time, we're going to observe something even bigger. A far, greater threat, Andrew."

Andrew felt cold seep through him as he saw the Old Man stand at the other end of the field, gazing at the insane Doctor dragging Amelia away. His lips were fixed in a sinister grin, his white hairs no longer glowing like they did before.

"What is this threat?" He whispered.

She looked pale. "Oh, you'll find out soon."

* * *

 _ **-The UNIX Home Base: Kitchen-**_

Only twenty minutes later, they stood in the kitchen. Sipping coffee and tea, seated at the long counter. It reminded of him of the military, Andrew thought distastefully as he gazed around the gray room.

"Don't look so ungrateful, Andrew. This is the best we have. I'm sorry if we don't have the high class kitchens like you expected, but we have bigger things to worry about." Chelsea spat as she angrily stirred around her tea.

Andrew looked up, surprised. "What's wrong?"

Chelsea slammed her hands down onto the counter, rattling their mugs. "What's wrong? _What's wrong_? I'll tell you what's wrong. What's wrong is that as we do more and more observations, the more aware the Doctor's are becoming! Every second we spend in this place raises our chances of getting infiltrated by a Doctor! We are literally one observation away from total hell."

Andrew covered his mouth. "I didn't realize it was that bad."

Chelsea muttered under her breath, "Well, you shoulda' realized sooner. We've got big problems, kid. Not only are the Doctor's becoming aware, but they are starting to _remember things from other universes_. Don't ask me how that works, I don't know. But if they all remember everything that happened... this tower of cards will collapse. And guess what the aftermath of that will be?"

"What?"

"Death. The end of the universe as we know it. The end of time itself. The end of everything that ever was. _That_ is our problem. Not to mention, these-" Chelsea slammed a package of envelopes down onto the counter.

Andrew's curiosity piqued. "What are those?"

Chelsea pursed her lips. "Envelops from the Old Man. Threats. _Death threats_ , Andrew. But not ordinary ones, oh no. They're _cryptic ones_. That bastard just had to be so goddamned 'fancy' in his way of delivering letters, didn't he?"

Andrew slid an envelope out, peering at it cautiously as he unfolded the letter inside.

* * *

 _My most insolent children,_

 _of despair and wrath._

 _Come to me gently,_

 _and I shall reward you with showers of red._

 _Rejoice!_

 _For I have unlocked the ultimate secret of reality,_

 _the one thing capable of toppling even the Doctor._

 _I will rise as a new God,_

 _and all shall obey me in my position._

 _While you are all quivering in your pitiful bodies,_

 _I shall rise from the Darkness and bring with me death._

 _I am the monster the lurks at the back of your mind,_

 _the original sin that created this pathetic time._

 _I am the void eater,_

 _the creature of madness._

 _Like a serpent of nightfall,_

 _I shall slither into your spirits,_

 _casting away the light from within._

 _The Oncoming Storm shall fester in his guilt,_

 _shall scream in the sight of the blood on his hands._

 _He shall go mad with power,_

 _shall commit horrific acts of such moral evil._

 _And I shall be the ruler of all creation._

 _Sleep well tonight,_

 _for tomorrow shall not rise again._

 _You have my word._

* * *

Andrew dropped the letter down onto the counter, face pale. It was poetic and yet threatening at the same time.

Chelsea nodded at him, sensing his discomfort. "Yeah. If this were just fiction I'd say he did he a pretty good job. But knowing this is actually true and happening... it scares me, Andrew. That isn't usually something I admit, but this time..."

Andrew placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, and she looked up at him in surprise. "It's going to be okay. We just have to fight back! We can change our fates! Change destiny! We will kill the Old Man! Even if we die in the process..."

Chelsea shook her head. "No. It won't come to that. _It can't come to that_. Andrew, I have so much to live for. I want to fall in love. I want to be loved. I want to be famous, maybe. Get a successful career. If we keep trying, then maybe, just maybe, we will make it back."

Andrew smiled at her. "I'm glad you're such the optimist."

She didn't smile back. "I have to be one if nobody else will."

 _Fate shall be held in their very hands._

* * *

 **A/N: Hello again! I hope you guys all enjoyed this chapter. Also, thank you to Junebug for your constructive criticism. I totally agreed with you on the whole thing. And also, thank you to every other reviewer for commenting on my story. I like feedback.**

 **Anywho, I had a stroke of inspiration with that little Old Man poem thingy. I've been writing a few poems lately (free-verse, so no rhyming), and I decided that the style would go great with the Old Man's voice. Philosophical with undertones of darkness. Perfect.**

 **Tell me what you thought of this chapter in the reviews section!**

 **Have a wonderful morning/evening/night, or whatever time it is where you live. Bye! ~soultrain21**


	7. Walking Through Memories

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

 _ **-The UNIX Home Base: Rooftop-**_

"Where are we?"

Andrew was curious. He had been at the UNIX headquarters for a while, but he still didn't know where they were located.

Chelsea glanced up at him from the equipment she was working in, and grinned. Wiping the sweat off her brow, she extended her hand. "I can show you."

They walked through cement staircases and white rooms before coming to a roof-access door. Tongue dancing along her lips, Chelsea unlocked the door, opening it wide to reveal an evening sun.

Gasping, Andrew walked out onto the large cement roof, grasping the railing at the other side.

Fields of gold and green spread out in every direction, snowcapped mountains in the distant. Pink and orange hues danced across the skies, turning black as it neared the horizon. And, in the air, the lingering cry of crows was present.

Chelsea sighed and walked up next to him, grabbing onto the railing next to him. "I came up here when we first found this place, you know. I was more naive then. I was still experimenting with my powers then. This universe, it's completely natural. Nothing here. We could start a new civilization here if we wanted to. The only problem; this building was already here when we showed up. Obviously, we are suspicious of why it's here, if there is nothing else around for miles. No roads, no villages, nothing."

Andrew nodded, swayed by the scent of grass in the breeze.

"There is no other indication of humans here. If so, then how is there a man-made structure?" Chelsea smiled weakly as she swung on the railing. "I love a good mystery. I just don't like it when it seems to have a sinister background."

Andrew stood up straighter, the cry of the cicadas' ringing out around them. He gazed over the softly swaying grass, and could see nothing amiss.

Chelsea caught his hand, and Andrew turned around surprised. Her face was the perfect composition, of somberness. And yet, it held a certain look of cheerfulness hidden underneath the tough eyes she tried so hard to display. She was afraid. They were all afraid.

Andrew couldn't remember what it felt like to fall in love. All he knew was that... this wasn't right. As much as Chelsea seemed to hint at, they wouldn't fit together. They weren't right for each other. And though it pained his heart to say it...

He didn't think she actually was attracted to him. She probably pitied him, mostly because of looking over his timelines. " _Look at that pathetic attempt at toughness,_ " She probably sneered the first time she gazed upon his timeline. Of course, she's softened up over time, but even so... she still gets exasperated. Tired. Like she doesn't want to deal with Andrew.

 _Why was he thinking this? He didn't normally think like this. Such... negative thoughts, especially around other people._

Chelsea caught his look, and gave him a grimace. "Are you thinking them too? Those horrible thoughts about other people? Doubting them? Are you paranoid, Andrew?"

He nodded slowly.

She gave him a sympathetic shrug. "Yeah, we don't know what's going on with that. It affects everybody here, though. So many people have commited suicide by jumping off this building."

This snapped Andrew out of his thoughts, and he looked over the edge of the railing to gaze horrified at the piles of rotting bodies at the bottom of the wall.

Chelsea shook her head. "Best not to think about those. We _would_ clean them, but..."

Andrew turned to her. "But...?"

"There's no door outside. The only one is this one."

"Why does this sound suspiciously like some young adult post-apocalyptic novel?" Andrew moaned, and Chelsea crossed her arms.

"You're lucky I don't kick your ass, Andrew. You should be more serious about this. Anyways, just because there's no door at ground level doesn't mean you can't get down there. Just grab a long ladder and _there ya' go_."

...

Chelsea turned back to the railing, and closed her eyes. Andrew looked upon her innocence as she stood there, illuminated in the evening sun. Her brown hair tumbled down to her waist, and her yellow robe she wore was dirty and ruffled. She looked tired, but tough.

"I miss it, you know." Her voice broke the silence.

Andrew looked up, surprise marring his features.

"I miss everything, so much. When I would wake up and my mother would sing songs as she cooked the breakfast. And then, when I turned twenty, and I got a hug from her, and I could feel how much she loved me. Andrew, I haven't felt love like in that in so long. It hurts, you know. To not know what it is anymore. What you're feeling right now, it's just the tip of the iceberg."

Andrew could only shrug his shoulders.

"I had a boyfriend. His name was Franz. We would always go to this bridge in my home town, and we would just sit there. Talking. Thinking. Reflecting. The first time we kissed was on that bridge. And then... and then..." Chelsea looked like she was about to burst into tears.

"And then he proposed to me. We were to be married after the camping trip I went on, but obviously the fucking Old Man wanted something else. If I could kill that bastard, I would. Franz meant the world to me. And now he's gone. You wanna know why? Because he had cancer. Why marry a man when he has cancer? It was love. Even though I knew he would die in only one year, atleast he could spend his last few months in comfort. Surrounded by love. But instead... he died alone. Without me, because the Old Man just had to drag me into the Doctor's universe. I still remember what the Doctor said to me, after I explained my story..." Her face was scrunched up.

"What did he say?" Andrew asked softly.

"He said it was stupid of me to marry a dying man, that it would never work out anyways. He said that true love didn't exist, and that a _stupid ape_ like me would never understand what _real pain_ was like." Chelsea scrunched up her fists. "He was a fucking arrogant prick, and I'm glad I got away from him."

Andrew patted her shoulder, and Chelsea let out a shuddery breath.

...

" _If only I could return, to those perfect times..._ "

* * *

 _ **-Chelsea: June, 2010. Before Universe Switch-**_

 _"Chelsea, I love you. I want to spend the rest of this short life with you, so..." Franz pulled out a small velvet case, causing Chelsea's heart to almost stop. "Will you marry me?"_

 _If Chelsea could've melted from her emotions right then and there, she would've. "Oh, yes! Franz, yes!"_

 _Chelsea felt delighted as Franz slipped the small gold band onto her finger, and she internally squealed as he stole a kiss from atop the bridge they were sitting on._

 _"Never forget that I love you, Chelsea." He breathed in her ear, and she giggled. She shoved him jokingly, and he grinned._

 _"Oh, Franz. I'm... I'm at a loss of words, right now. Even if it is only a year..." Pain marred her features for only a second, before fading. "I will enjoy every second of it. I will love you, Franz."_

 _Franz smiled, and Chelsea felt her heart lift. "And I, will always be thinking of you. Even after I perish, Chelsea, I will still think of you."_

 _They held hands and stared into each others eyes, reflecting on their lives beforehand. It was poetic, Chelsea thought eagerly as she felt the soft flesh of her lover's hands. She could feel his heartbeat, his utter being as she sat there on that stone bridge._

 _She smiled warmly as she gazed over his red hair, his green eyes. She felt utterly astounded by his ability to cheerfully smile and wink even when he knew that he was to be dead within the year. She envied that ability._

 _"Hey," He frowned, rubbing her cheek when he noticed her smile fade a bit._

 _Chelsea grabbed his hand and stroked it, staring back into his eyes. "Please, Franz. Tell me... are you afraid?"_

 _He smiled softly at her, and planted a kiss on her lips. "Not when you're around..."_

 _Chelsea felt like she belonged that night._

 _Perhaps she should've never agreed to go on that camping trip? She wouldn't have been beaten so mercilessly by a man she thought she knew. Simply knowing a man from a television show was different from actually knowing him in real life._

 _Misery likes company._

* * *

 _ **-The UNIX Home Base-**_

"What about you, Andrew? Do you have any skeletons in your closet you want to discuss?" Chelsea asked him later in the night, as they sat alone in the large kitchen. Andrew scrunched his eyes closed.

"Maybe."

She laid a hand on his. "Well, maybe you can start with explaining what your life was like before you got here? This is something we do with every new recruit. It's good to let other people know what's wrong. Never hold things to yourself Andrew, especially when it involves other people."  
Andrew sighed. "Okay. I assume you already know of the plane explosion?"

Chelsea nodded somberly. "Everybody knows."

Andrew swept back his hair. "Anyways, before then... I had a girlfriend. A nice one, named Shelly. Bit of a drama queen, but whatever. She's dead now. My best friend Joel is dead as well. My parent's are still alive, I think. If I ever get to see them again, the first thing I'm going to do is tell them that I love them. I never did that when I left them at that airport. They probably never forgave me for that... and they were probably heartbroken when they found out what happened to the plane." Andrew rubbed his eyes. The thought of his parents breaking down in his kitchen... thinking that their son was dead. Thinking that he didn't love them. Thinking that-

"Stop." Chelsea demanded, slamming her hands down on the table.

"What...?"

"You're having another one of those depressing moments, I know it. Life doesn't have to be all doom and gloom all the time, Andrew. Have fun sometimes! Which is why I'm going to take you down to the bowling alley-"

"Why would a top-secret base have a bowling alley?"

There was a twinkle in Chelsea's eyes. "Why wouldn't it? We're not robots, ya' know."

She grabbed his arm, and after a moments hesitation, pulled him out of the kitchen into the hall.

* * *

He laughed when they entered the large bowling alley, and she quickly skipped over to grab one of the many balls littered around the room.

"Watch and learn, Andrew. This is how a true pro rolls bowling balls!" She let out a battle cry as she charged forward. Andrew clapped slowly when she hit every pin except for one, earning a "Damnit!" from Chelsea.

Chelsea held a ball out to him, scowl apparent to him. "If you think that was comedy gold, then why don't you try rolling a few balls, _oh great and powerful Andrew_?"

Andrew licked his lips as he stood in position at the front of the runway, fingers clutching the ball tightly.

"Stop being so dramatic and roll the damn ball!" She yelled at him. Andrew winked at her before rolling the ball with as much strength as he could muster. _Whoops_. He watched horrified as the ball turned right off the path. Chelsea laughed nearby and slapped him on the back.

"That was good. That was very good. You're a regular pro at this, you know? I mean, you're so good, you _didn't even hit one pin_!"

"Oh, ha hah!" Andrew crossed his arms, though his face was pulled in a grin. He had to admit, this _was_ fun! It felt nice to just have fun instead of always being depressed all the time.

Perhaps... perhaps the Old Man would die out one day? Andrew would like that. For the Old Man to just... die. Maybe then they could go home. The universal barriers would be lifted, and he would be able to walk back through into his home with a wink of his eye.

 _ **"Chelsea, we have a problem."**_

They stopped as Enoch's voice came on the announcement, and Chelsea spun around on her heel at his panicked tone.

"What is it? What is it? Tell me, Enoch!" She yelled into her earpiece, and Andrew could see her good mood simply drain away.

 _ **"Chelsea, it's... your Doctor. He... he somehow got through. We don't know how, all we know is that you aren't safe. The Doctor is armed. He is armed. And he is coming straight your way! Get out. It's not safe. Your life depends on you getting out, Chelsea! Please, just remember to-"**_

The announcement cut off suddenly, and the room was suddenly plunged into darkness. Chelsea grabbed for Andrew's arm, and he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Oh my god, Andrew... I don't want to die. Please, I don't want to die. Not now... not yet."

" _Ohh Chelsea, don't ya' think it's a bit too late for that?_ " The Doctor's voice came from infront of them, and Chelsea tightened her hands around Andrew's arm.

"What do you want?!" She screamed, her voice warbly. The Doctor let out a sinister laugh, and they heard the unmistakable sound of the sonic screwdriver.

"Ah, and I see you also have Mr. Andrew Evans with you! I remember him-"

"You _remember_ him? How?" Chelsea spat, and the Doctor simply chuckled darkly.

"Oh, I remember every person I touch, Chelsea. You see, I was blind to the other timelines before now, but the Old Man gave me so much _power_!"

Chelsea loosened her grip on Andrew's arm, and he heard the cold sound of metal as she pulled something out of her pocket...

"The Old Man gave you power? This is new. Oh, this changes everything. You're... working with the Old Man? What happened to being merciful? What happened to common sense? The Old Man... he's evil! Vile!"

The Doctor laughed again. "Oh, but you see, he convinced me! He said I was simply wasting away my time with such a pathetic human, and so he took her away!"

Chelsea gasped. "Took away... who?"

A red light filled the room, and they could see the Doctor's predatory leer. "A certain Rose Tyler. Man, I wanted to kill the Old Man after he took her away. But... he showed me how evil she actually was! He gave me the ability to peer into other timelines, and I saw how she would end up breaking my hearts. I don't need that type of pain. And so, I later accepted him taking her away-"

"How could you! She... she loved you! She loved you! What did the Old Man do to her?" Andrew screamed, and the Doctor's lips curled in disgust.

"She _loved_ me? Well, I didn't love her. You see, I knew how pathetic she actually was in real life, never being loved and all. Mickey the Idiot didn't actually care for her. Besides, she was so selfish. And so... The Old Man simply willed her out of existence. And her family as well. The universe didn't need that waste of space inside it."

Chelsea spat at his feet. "How dare you. How _dare you_. She was a human being! A person, just like anyone else! Who are you to judge us? Who are you to exercise your opinions on us in such horrific ways? Is this just a game to you?"

The Doctor stomped down onto the ground. " _This was never a game! I am the most superior being in all of creation! You will obey me!_ "

Chelsea sighed. "I think you're just saying all of those things about Rose, but you don't actually mean them. I think you actually did love her. I think you were actually sane once. But the Old Man... he infected your thoughts, didn't he? Gave you these horrible and horrific ideas? Of killing your friends? Everybody you loved?"

The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "That. Is. Not. True." He spat at her, and Chelsea growled before raising the gun.

"You know, I won't feel any remorse in doing this, Doctor. I hope you're happy in hell." She said the last part softly before pulling the trigger, Andrew watching in horror as the Doctor collapsed on the ground.

"What did you do?! The entire universe will die now!"

Chelsea crossed her arms. "Actually, no. Only his universe will die. Our's will still be alive."

Andrew shook his head. "But... you killed him! You killed somebody! I thought you were against violence!"

Chelsea let out a smirk as she raised her blood covered hands. "Guess I'm not as innocent as you thought I was, huh? I was almost raped once. But you know what I did? I grabbed a nearby pipe and smashed that motherfucker's face in."

Andrew, eyes wide in shock, stood up. "You're... you're almost as worse as him! A murderer! I... I thought... you were..."

Chelsea growled as she stepped closer. "It was self-defense, Andrew! I don't usually kill people! Only when they're trying to hurt me! I swear!"

Andrew sighed. "But... the Old Man. Even the Doctor called him by that title! We could've found out more about him! But no, we had to go and shoot his fucking face in!"

Chelsea wiped dirt off her face a little, smearing blood. "We can get our answers another way. There is no way I'm going straight to the Doctor for something like this. Anyways, there was only one bullet in the gun-"

 _ **"Then that will make it much easier to get my answers from you!"**_ Andrew's Doctor stood glaring in the doorway, hand wrapped around his sonic screwdriver. Chelsea narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Well, well, well. Come to join the party? I think Andrew has a gun in his bag, too. He could use that to shoot you instead."

Andrew's Doctor simply glanced at Andrew before saying, "Oh, but I don't think he will."

Chelsea glared at him. "How do you know? You were going to cut out his heart!"

The Doctor's expression softened. " _I know... and... I'm sorry._ "

Andrew blinked in surprise nearby. "Do... do you actually mean it?"

The Doctor grimaced. "Yes. I... was a fool. An idiot. But... unlike the other versions of me who went absolutely insane, I've... realized something."

Chelsea, attentive now, leaned in. "What did you realize?"

...

He simply looked at her with regret. "That I'm a horrible, horrible person."

 _If one could realize their mistakes... could the others too?_

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I felt a little disorganized writing this one, but I hope that's just me. First off, I would like to thank Almadynis Rayne and Junebug (again) for your reviews and support. It means a lot to me getting feedback on my work! Okay, and now... a small explanation.**

 **The Old Man had made it so that Rose Tyler never existed, but the Doctor still remembered her. He remembered two seperate timelines. One where she existed, and one where she didn't. He practically went insane due to this, and the Old Man appeared to him and gave him "help", however this came at a price. It infected his thoughts, and caused him to spiral down even more. The reason Andrew's Doctor has realized his mistakes is due to his ability to remember other timelines. The Doctor remembers everytime he went insane, and everytime he killed his wards. He feels remorse and shame, and wants to right those wrongs.**


	8. Fading In Existence

**Chapter Eight**

* * *

 _ **-The UNIX Home Base: Universal Room-**_

"How did you do this?" The Doctor stood inside the UNIX universal room, mouth wide open as he glanced around at the many portals around the place.

"That's kind of difficult to explain," Chelsea began, but she was shushed by the Doctor who started to pace around the room.

"Punching holes through reality! That's very dangerous, and could lead to all of reality breaking down! What were you thinking?!"

Chelsea crossed her arms, a glare crossing her face. "Well, we don't choose our abilities, now do we?"

The Doctor stopped and peered at her down his nose. "What is that supposed to mean, hm?"

Chelsea rolled her eyes dramatically and turned around. "I'll show you."

Andrew scratched his head nearby. "Why didn't you show me it before, anyways?"

Without missing a beat, Chelsea's voice rang out. "You would probably break down or something if I did. You were mentally unstable at that point."

Andrew nodded, startled when he felt the Doctor's hand on his back. "I promise I'll try to be more... sane from now on."

Andrew shrugged the Doctor's hand off. "Well, you can start by toning down the tactile contact."

"Boys!" Chelsea's impatient voice echoed across the room, and Andrew winced.

She seemed to concentrate at a certain area of the room, and Andrew's eyes widened when the air seemed to ripple and tear open.

The Doctor gasped next to him and quickly sprinted over to where Chelsea was standing. "That was... impossible! Simply impossible!" He gaped at her, his brows furrowing in concern when he noticed her bloody nose.

"It's fine," she waved him off, used to having them from opening holes.

The Doctor scoffed and crossed his arms. "Don't play games with me. I can tell when somebody is hurt. I can get rid of that ability, you know-"

" _No!_ " Chelsea cried out the moment he spoke those words, and Andrew noticed her sway on the spot.

"I need these abilities, Doctor! To get back to my own universe. To get everybody back to their own universes."

The Doctor shook his head. "But your universes are closed off. I already tried going to them after Andrew escaped, using the information from his mind."

Chelsea rubbed her head. "We already know that. Obviously, you're much better now then you were before. I don't _think_ you're going to go on a psychotic break if you help us, so... _please help us!_ "

The Doctor laughed and rubbed his hands. "Of course I'll help! I haven't exactly helped anybody since the Old Man took Rose Tyler away! I was broken after that, but I think you guys..." He looked lost for a moment, before continuing. "I think you guys are going to help me. If I help you... will you help me?"

Chelsea smiled warmly for the first time in a few days, and swept back her hair. "Of course. I must admit, when you're not all psychotic and dark... you're actually kind of cool."

The Doctor shrugged, chuckling a bit as he ran his hands through his hair.

Andrew, however, simply raised his hand. "Um... sorry to spoil the moment, but we kind of have to talk about this now. To figure things out, I mean. I'm tired of being kept in the dark all the time about everything that is going on."

Chelsea nodded. "You're right. We have to figure out this mystery." She snapped her fingers at the Doctor, who looked flustered as she strode off deep into the building. He glanced at Andrew, who smiled and said; "Follow her."

They quickly jogged after Chelsea, who seemed to be practicing her daily runs at that moment.

Chelsea pursed her lips glancing back at the two huffing men, and she came to a sudden stop in the hallway causing them to almost crash into her back. She opened a door to the right, and led them into a small sitting room.

"What was the point of walking across the building just to go into some small sitting room?" Andrew panted, resting his hands on his knees. Chelsea cleared her throat and he raised his eyebrow.

"This room is meant only for secret discussions like this. It is completely soundproof."

Andrew looked confused. "But don't we want everyone in the facility to know about this?"

She shook her head. "We don't know how the Old Man led these Doctor's here. There could be followers of his in these very walls, and so I'm taking extra cautionary measures to prevent something horrible from happening."

The Doctor made a clucking sound nearby, and Chelsea sighed. "What?"

He hummed and said, "Oh nothing. It's just that, I found this place through Co-ordinates left to me in my TARDIS."

Andrew stood up straighter. "Co-ordinates to this universe?"

The Doctor smirked. "Exactly!"

Chelsea waved her hand infront of their faces. "Hello? This just proved what I said. The Old Man obviously left those Co-ordinates."

The Doctor blinked. "Why, yes. Of course he did."

Andrew nodded along. "It's obvious."

Chelsea held her hand to her forehead. "Oh, dear God. Not only did this Doctor redeem himself, he also turned out to be a bumbling idiot in the end."

The Doctor looked offended. "Oi! I'm so much smarter than you! I could make a dimensional portal in two micro-seconds flat!"

Chelsea simply raised a brow. "Oh, can you now?"

He scratched his neck. "Er... no. But I can try! It has a 0.1% chance of success!"

She sighed. "Doctor, you're a Time Lord, not a robot."

...

"You're not a robot, right?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Don't think so, no."

"Don't lie to me. If I punch you in the head, will you get a concussion?"

The Doctor scratched his arm. "Maybe?"

Chelsea cracked her knuckles. "One way to find out."

" _I swear on my mother's grave, I will_ _give you both a headache if you continue to act like a couple of children._ " They all jumped at the sound of Enoch entering the room.

"Oh, Enoch! Meet the Doctor! Andrew's Doctor, I mean!" Chelsea squealed, pulling Enoch into the room right infront of the Doctor.

They stood there awkwardly staring at each other before Chelsea finally lost her nerve and shoved Enoch away. "How about I give you a headache for acting like a shy teenager?"

He swatted her hands away, and leaned against the wall warily. "There is news from the other universes, Chelsea."

This snapped her out of her mood. "What is it?"

Enoch looked grave. "The Doctor's have... vanished from them. No sign whatsoever."  
Chelsea gasped and covered her mouth. "I thought... I thought we had more time."

Andrew, confused with the current situation, butted his head into the conversation. "Um... what do you mean by that?"

Chelsea looked at him exasperated. "Every time we open a hole in reality, little bits of particle-matter escape. What's the particle? Huon Energy. The Doctor is _full of it_. He is also completely unique in the fact that all of his universal counter-parts are connected, and everytime a hole in reality is opened near him, well... large bits of Huon Energy escape from him."

Andrew shrugged his shoulders, tired. "Which means?"

Chelsea was about to respond, before the Doctor rudely stood infront of her. "It means that everytime a hole in those universes are opened, I fade a little bit more. Until I exist no longer. It took a while, but with all these portals open... it was inevitable."

Chelsea stepped around the Doctor and sighed. "Yes. It _was inevitable_. So inevitable, infact, that it seems..." She gasped.

Andrew raised his brows. "What is it?"

She glanced at him in horror. "I know what the Old Man's plan _is_ now!"

Andrew covered his mouth as the eureka moment came to him as well. Of course, it made sense. Everything was deliberate. Them opening the portals and crossing over to other universes. This was what the Old Man had wanted all along. For them to in-advertantly destroy the Doctor. It was a highly complex plan, just to simply destroy the Doctor, but perhaps the Old Man needed the Doctor to be erased from reality completely in order to...

"Oh my God..." Andrew covered his mouth. It figured. The Doctor, the person who they were trying to run from was actually the most integral part in the entire thing. If he didn't exist, then they would never be able to escape. In fact, they wouldn't be there at that very moment.

Enoch cleared his throat. "There is also something else. Thanks to that... many of our members have also vanished. Completely. Without a trace. Even their bedrooms have vanished."

Chelsea covered her mouth. "What about..."

Enoch nodded with a grimace. "Yes. Even Amelia."

Andrew felt his face pale as he glanced at Chelsea. "But... then how is this Doctor still here?"

Chelsea gasped. "Because, we're inside a highly complex space-time event! This entire facility is a fixed point in time! Oh, I could kiss the person who created this place!"

The Doctor hummed in approval next to them. "Yes, as long as I stay in this universe I'll still exist. If I even lay one finger in my own... well, you know what happens."

Andrew opened his eyes wider as he considered the other member in the room. Enoch. How was he still there, then? His Doctor didn't come into the facility, right? Chelsea's Doctor was lying dead inside the bowling alley, Andrew's Doctor was standing there with them, but Enoch's Doctor...

"Enoch... where is your Doctor?"

Enoch glanced at him in surprise, before answering. "I... don't know." He furrowed his brows in confusion. "I can't remember. Oh my God, I can't remember. I'm going to fade out, aren't I?!"

Chelsea shook her head vigorously. "No, Enoch. I won't allow-" She gasped when he seemed to vanish in front of their very own eyes.

"Enoch! _Enoch! No!_ " Chelsea screamed, lunging at the spot where he was standing.

The Doctor was pulling her back in an instant, his expression stern as he held her back. " _No_ , Chelsea. He's gone. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. But... he doesn't exist here anymore."

Chelsea wrestled her way out of his grasp. "But, he's still alive in his original timeline, right?!"

The Doctor's expression was somber. "I'm sorry. But he doesn't exist anywhere, anymore. He never existed in the first place. You only have your memory of him now because this is a complicated space-time event."

Chelsea wiped her tears away and stood her ground. "We need to find that Old Man right now! No more wasting time punching holes through reality! We are going to march right up to that _thing_ and tear it's heart out!"

The Doctor held up a hand. "Judging by how things have went so far, it's searching for us right now."

Andrew felt his heart drop when Chelsea dropped to the ground in tears, her arm clutching her chest. "Oh my God... We're the only ones left. I just realized that now. We are the _only ones left_. The Final Three. Out of everybody else in this facility, the hundreds and hundreds there were, we are the only ones left... and it's all my fault!" She screamed, banging the floor with her fists.

Andrew observed the Doctor stride over to her and hold her, whispering comforting words into her ears.

"It's not your fault," he rubbed her back. "The Old Man was simply playing you along like a fiddle. I say that you're going to be back in your own universe in no time, eh? Especially with me around."

Chelsea lifted her red eyes and stared into the Doctor's. "How do I know I can trust your word?"

The Doctor stared back at her not unkindly. "You don't. It's your decision whether you trust me or not."

Andrew spoke up from the back of the room. "Gee, Doctor. You've changed since we first met."

The Doctor grimaced in recollection. "Those were darker times."

"I'd say," Andrew agreed. Strange, it felt so long ago now. The plane crash, the Doctor dragging him back on the TARDIS. He still remembered some of his first words to the Doctor. He was much more aggressive back then. He remembered his whispered "What the fuck," and the way he slipped the aspirin inside the Doctor's drink.

"So, what is the Old Man, exactly? Doctor, do you know?" Andrew asked, trying to get his mind away from the past. The Doctor shook his head.

"No. This is a first for me, to be honest. This is the first time I honestly do not know what the thing is. Usually I figure it out within a day or so, but I haven't been able to dig anything up on the Old Man. It is completely anonymous."

Chelsea swallowed hard, and the sound of it echoed across the small room. She weakly stood up, and squared her shoulders. Andrew admired her strength to just get up and _go_ like that. He still would've been on the ground.

She put on her "This-is-war," face, and bit her lip. "Well, well, well. It's time to talk face to face to the Old Man then. Where are you, Old Man! We know you're here! Watching us!" Her voice pierced the silence of the air, and Andrew shuddered when a voice responded.

" _I have always been here, insolent child. Watching you, observing. What fun it was to watch you shoot your Doctor in the chest!_ "

The Doctor angrily stepped forward, his fists clenched. "What are you? Old Man, such a fitting name for such an inferior creature!"

They could almost hear the Old Man snarl in response. " _I will smite you from the very ground you're standing on, Doctor! Your words have no power over me! I shall be the most superior being in all of creation._ "

The Doctor shook his head. "Oh, I doubt that. Because, you see, you can't change things inside a complicated space-time event. It's against the very laws of reality."

" _The laws of reality are mere plastic barriers before the might of me!_ "

The Doctor glared up at the ceiling. "Oh, you're all bark but no bite! What have you actually done besides make children do your dirty work? Only a coward would stand by instead of actually affecting things yourself! That was the same problem with my own race... always just sitting by but never changing! How is it living when you just sit there wasting away your hours?"

Andrew could feel the air shift and everything suddenly darkened. " _How dare you defy me, Doctor. How dare you disobey the one_ _ **who created you**_?"

The Doctor growled. "You did not create me. To claim that is a lie. A really bad thing to lie about, infact, because there is one person you should _never_ try to get the better of. Who is it? _Me. The Doctor_!"

The Old Man let out a booming laugh, and Andrew gasped when the room was plunged into utter darkness.

The Doctor scurried over to Andrew and Chelsea and shielded them, his eyes narrowing under the black surroundings.

" _You are also quite the inferior being, Doctor. Last of the Time Lords... mmm. I can smell the time energy radiating off you, off of all of you. I can feel your fear as you tremble in your boots. I am the void-eater, Doctor. I am the ultimate creator, the one these pathetic humans call God._ "

"Well, I'm afraid that's a lie." Came Chelsea's deadly calm voice.

"Chelsea!" The Doctor hissed, signalling for her to shut up.

She ignored him. "You see, you will never be God. Sure, you can imitate him, but you will never be the real deal. God decides everything. God created _you_. And to have such a pitiful thing such as you be a God... I laugh in the face of that." Chelsea chuckled a bit, and they felt the anger radiating off of the Old Man.

The Doctor scanned the Old Man quickly, and Andrew noticed his surprised look.

"Of course... I should've known all this time."

" _Oh dear, it appears your Doctor has discovered who I truly am. And I was starting to enjoy myself. No matter. It is time for a confrontation, Doctor. Your pets aren't allowed, however. I shall deal with them after... and Chelsea Berbrook shall know the true wrath of a vengeful God!"_

The Doctor looked panicked. "Wait! Chelsea, Andrew! The Old Man! He's from before-" They watched horrified as the Doctor was suddenly pulled upwards, and the room was filled with light.

"Take this!" He chucked the screwdriver at them, and Andrew caught it, twirling it around in his fingers. The Doctor finally vanished, and Chelsea cried out in anguish.

"We were so close! And now he's gone too!"

Andrew put a hand on her shoulder. "No, he's not. He's in the same space as the Old Man right now."

Chelsea peered up at him through clasped fingers. "So... you're saying he's still alive?"

Andrew nodded. "Of course. He left us his sonic because... I think he wants us to come to him. To join him in the final confrontation."

Chelsea suddenly was filled with determination, and she marched over to the doorway. "Well, come on then! There is no time to waste! We're going to need weapons, lots of them!"

Andrew frowned. "I thought the Doctor doesn't approve of weapons?"

Chelsea scoffed. "Do you really care about that? Besides, you're forgetting an integral part. This is a different version of the Doctor. The one in the show cared about that shit, but I don't think this one does."

Andrew tried to look tough. "Well, I did learn to use weapons for a year. I guess it's time to put those skills to use."

Chelsea looked smug. "That's the spirit. Now, come on. I anticipate a large battle with explosives and stuff!"

Andrew laughed awkwardly. "Um... I don't think it's going to be like that at all. It's probably going to be anti-climactic, to be honest. Or maybe really philosophical. I honestly don't know. Maybe the Old Man likes psychological warfare?"

Chelsea sighed. "Andrew, don't you like to at least be a little imaginative? I mean seriously, the way things are going right now reminds me of some crappy fanfiction."

Andrew chuckled. "Imagine if we were inside a fanfiction right now, and the author was writing about us?"

Chelsea felt the urge to slap him. "Don't be stupid. All that sensing alternate timelines stuff is just baloney."

Andrew raised his hand. "But... all of those fanfiction authors? Remember that one community on the website? Stolen from Reality, maybe it was called? It had tons of stories like that!"

Chelsea's eyes shot daggers at him. "Those were just fanfictions, Andrew. They weren't alternate timelines or anything like that!"

Andrew pressured her to continue, however. "But what if they were?! What if people are being ripped from their own realities across every universe? Not just these ones, but the ones from those fanfictions?!"

Chelsea finally slapped him. "We have to focus on the present moment, Andrew! We can't worry about fanfiction universes! Not right now, not ever!"

Andrew nodded. "Right, right. Sorry. I got kinda' carried away there for some reason."

Chelsea rolled her eyes and beckoned for him to follow her.

Andrew crept behind her, cautious as he heard the distant rumbling laughter up above.

 _Would the Doctor survive? Or... would he fail?_

* * *

 **A/N: Hello all of you! I hope you guys all enjoyed this latest chapter! Please leave a review!**

 **I don't suppose I need any explanations this time (assuming you read the entire chapter), but I will say one thing. This fanfiction will _END_ in _Chapter Ten_. Aka, two more chapters before the conclusion to this fanfiction! I'm sorry if it seems a little short for a fanfiction, but honestly I don't think I would be able to stretch this out to fifty-thousand words or any longer. Short but sweet, you know what they say? **

**Oh, and... I felt so much better writing this chapter. I don't know why, it just felt good. Maybe I was more inspired? It was cloudy out, so that probably helped. Anyways, I don't think you guys want to read my ramblings, so have a fantastic night (or day)! ~soultrain21**


	9. A Demonic Game

_Please do not deplore yourself._

 _Even if the world does not forgive you, I will forgive you._

 _Please do not deplore yourself._

 _Even if you do not forgive the world, I will forgive you._

 _So please tell me._

 _What will it take for you, to forgive me?_

 _-_ _ **Frederica Bernkastel, When The Cicadas' Cry**_

* * *

 **Chapter Nine**

* * *

 _ **-The UNIX Home Base-**_

This was it.

The final confrontation.

Andrew felt nervous. He should feel nervous, Chelsea said.

But then... why wasn't he scared? Chelsea was scared. She said she was. But him... he wasn't. Should he be... scared?

"If I can rip open a hole in the fabric of space time with that screwdriver, then we can reach the Doctor." She rambled on about quantum physics and the like, while Andrew simply sat in silence pondering where they were now.

He and Chelsea... didn't belong in the same universe. And if his universe had it's own counterpart of her... would he still like her? Obviously being pulled through to another universe changed her. Just like it changed him, from an asshole to a more reserved person.

But... had he actually done anything at all? No. He had been utterly useless in the situation before. But now... he could change that. He could help save the Doctor. Now, instead of him chasing them, they were chasing after him... to save him. Unlike the Doctor's original motive, which was to capture them and hold them hostage in his TARDIS.

 _But without the Doctor, every universe will die._

"Andrew, hold the screwdriver in your hand tightly." Chelsea ordered him, holding the silver tube up. He grabbed onto it, breath hitching when he felt a tiny pulse resonate through it. _It's... alive?_

Chelsea narrowed her eyes and ground her feet into the floor, tiny beads of sweat collecting on her forehead. She moved her hands and their eyes widened when the entire room seemed to disappear from around them.

Andrew gazed around the nothingness from around them, the utter darkness surrounding them on either side. How were they still alive and breathing if there was nothing there?

" _I see you have found my lair, lower beings_." An ancient voice echoed around them, as sharp as time and as melancholy as death.

" _Step closer into the darkness, and I shall feast upon your lovely bodies of meat and bone._ " The voice called out warningly, and Andrew gulped.

Chelsea seemed indifferent. "I'm flattered you think so highly of my body. Say, what an _attractive_ voice you have!"

Andrew gagged. She was obviously trying to please the Old Man so that they would live... or something. But... where was the Doctor?

" _Flattery will not work against a being as ancient as me, foolish mortal! I see you are wondering where the Doctor has wandered off to... I have lost him somewhere in the dark. But I will find him, and once I do... I shall devour his Time Energy and erase him from his pitiful existence! And you shall watch me rise from the ashes of this forgotten world, and I shall bring chaos to this reality!_ "

Chelsea glared at him. "And poetry won't work against us "foolish mortals" either, Old Man."

Andrew felt his ears bleed as that horrible screech filled his eyes, and he gasped in pain.

The Old Man seemed to take notice of this. " _Yes... Andrew... feel the harsh caressing of my hands as it grazes the very outskirts of your mind! Andrew... and Chelsea. Oh, but there are still so many possibilities! I could pull anyone out of their realities! All of you are my... Instruments of Reality. I can play you which ever way I choose, and_ _you can't stop me!_ "

Andrew squared his shoulders and finally spoke out. "Look, I don't care about this anymore. We will find the Doctor, and we _will_ defeat you. You won't be able to change reality anymore!"

The Old Man's laugh rang out, deep and depressing across the infinite black. " _Why don't we play a game then, Andrew Evans? Find the Doctor before me, and I might give you a chance against me. But, fail to find that pathetic soul, and I shall smite you from all of time itself!_ "

Andrew nodded. "It's a deal, Chelsea-"

She was gone. Andrew spun around, anger marring his features. "What did you do to her!?"

He could feel the leer even without looking at it's face. " _Oh, I simply can't have her be in the way of our little game, now can I? So, I simply hid her away for a bit. Oh wait... I have an excellent idea! Think of this as a little motivation to find the Doctor, hm?_ "

Andrew was horrified as the anguished screams of Chelsea filled the room. He could hear something slamming against her, and his breath almost stopped when she let out a horrific sob.

He clasped his hands together. "What... what are you doing to her?"

There was a chuckle. " _Does eternal torture ring a bell, Andrew? Of course, I can't really put her in for eternity, that's impossible. But instead, every second for her feels like a lifetime, every minute the life of a Time Lord. Every hour... no use on talking about that when you'll probably be dead within ten minutes, right?_ "

Andrew gripped the sonic screwdriver in his hand tighter. "No. I'll survive, I know I will. And I _will_ save Chelsea!"

He slammed his foot into the ground as he took off on a mad sprint into the darkness, blind and without a path.

Chelsea... he had to save her. The Doctor... he also had to save her. He thought he was useless... this was what he got. The responsibility of all of reality. If he failed in this task, then nobody would be able to live again. They would all die.

Which was why he had to make sure that he won. It wasn't just a matter of pride anymore, this was a matter of life and death. Black and white.

The shadows around him seemed to taunt him with every step he took, and he swore he could see the anguished faces of those who vanished staring back at him. He could see his mother as well. His father. Shelly. Joel. All of the people he loved. Chelsea. Even his old dog who had died two years before. They were all there, joined with him.

Perhaps... they actually were watching over him? Cheering him on. He could almost feel the gentle caressing of their hands against his skin, their whispered compliments.

" _We will always love you, no matter what..._ " His mother's voice echoed around him, undertoned by his own father's.

What if... this was just hell? What if he actually _had_ died in that plane crash, and this was really just the afterlife? A more personalized afterlife.

He didn't want to be here anymore. He wanted to feel loved. He wanted to feel safe. But now... he was most likely going to die. And nobody would bat an eye, least of all the Doctor. His parents already thought he was dead, because of the plane explosion. He wouldn't even be able to die in a pleasant location. He would just be surrounded by the eternal darkness, lingering at the edge of his consciousness like a knife cutting into a steak.

This was his punishment, perhaps.

This was his way of atonement.

Was that a light up ahead? He was ready, he knew it. He was ready to save the Doctor.

Oh wait... that was a trick of his eyes. A simple illusion. Caused by... _his dying brain?_

 _No. he couldn't be dying._

That would be a horrific lie... but what if it was true? What if he actually was being melted by fire, as his brain graudually turned to mush? What is this darkness was just him losing the ability to conjure up memories of places?

But... that couldn't possibly be true. He was still thinking such vivid thoughts, he was still so lucid.

No. All he could focus on now was the Doctor. Only the Doctor. No other thoughts could exist at this moment. He _must_ win.

...

So why did nothing feel real?

"Andrew." The Doctor's voice echoed behind him, and Andrew spun around to face the grim sight of a spirit, fading away from the universe.

" _I was too late!_ " Andrew cried out, his hands slamming against his forehead.

The apparition simply smiled sadly. "Actually, no you weren't. Or I should say aren't. I always get those two mixed up..."

Andrew blinked in confusion. "But... what do you mean?"

The ghost of the Doctor sighed. "I am simply the projection of a future version of me. And I must say... you did not fail."

Andrew rubbed his hands. "I... didn't? That's... that's good."

The ghost shook his head. "I'm warning you though. That victory... comes at a terrible price. And I must say, in advance... because I was too late to say it before... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Andrew felt his heart stop. "What is that even supposed to mean?" He whispered to the spirit infront of him.

The Doctor's projection only frowned in sorrow. "You'll know soon. And I just want to say... I tried to stop him. But... it didn't work."

Andrew felt like screaming when the vision faded, and he stomped his feet down onto the ground. " _No_. This... can't be happening! It can't! A terrible price!"

He sprinted off into the dark, again.

 _Yes. That was what he was meant to do all along_!

He was always travelling. He knew it that whole time. Travelling... _towards the dark._

A terrible price. He died, then. Or maybe his universe vanished. Something horrible was going to happen.

...

"Andrew! Finally, somebody that I know!" The Doctor moaned infront of him, and Andrew lifted his eyes to be gifted with the sight of the Oncoming Storm dressed in nothing more than filthy underwear.

" _What the hell are you doing in only those?_ "

The Doctor winked at him. "Oh, the Old Man simply made my clothes vanish! A mad old feller, that thing is!"

Andrew scrunched up his fists. "I walked through hell to get here, and I have to see you standing there practically naked!?"

The Doctor sighed. "Actually, this feels quite nice on the skin. I didn't know void energy could feel so enlightening!" He sniffed.

Andrew gasped. "We're in the void? How is that possible? How are we still alive?"

The Doctor grimaced. "The Old Man manufactured a portion of it to his liking. He is able to manipulate void energy. Basically, manipulate matter that shouldn't exist!"

Andrew rolled his eyes, and crossed his arms. "Talking about the Old Man... what is he, exactly?"

The Doctor sniffed. "I'll tell you and Chelsea later."

Andrew groaned. "I will punch you in the face if you don't stop keeping secrets about him!"

The Doctor raised his hands as if to tame a wild animal. "Okay. I'll tell you then. But beware... I don't know why I just said beware, that was just a spur of the moment thing. Tell you what, why don't we have nice sit-down and talk this through?"

Andrew rubbed his hands through his hair. "Yes, yes. We can just put on a nice cuppa' tea and dress up in our fine clothes. _We don't have time for that shit right now_."

The Doctor shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Okay then... the Old Man is a being from before the universe was created... though I'm sure you already suspected that. But... he is even more powerful than even the Great Intelligence. The Old Man... he was only a legend on Gallifrey. The Old Man's real name is _Hishtus_. His name is carved through the time vortex, and if you even speak his name in another reality... he will know. He is the most omniscient being in all of creation... except for in his domain. You see, this part of the void is an eternal prison for the _Hishtus_ , but it wasn't the Time Lords who sealed him away."

"Then who was it?"

The Doctor's face was grim. "The Ancient Ones. They had locked him inside here to fester in his own misery for all of eternity, but something went wrong. He was omniscient for everything. He knows everything about everyone, every secret, every story ever told. He knows about every timeline in existence. All he had to do was gaze at the prison from the _outside_ , and he could see the cracks. So he broke through. He already knew about me. You see, the thing is... The Time Lords are connected to _Hishtus_."

Andrew spat. "What?" This was never in the lore for Doctor Who. This was entirely made up... right?

"All things in the universe have remnants of _Hishtus_ in them. But... there was also his opposite brother. His brother was the one you humans called _Yahweh_ , or _God_."

Andrew shook his head. "But... all the scripture. The Bible. It-"

"-Still has some truth in it. Satan and God. Except, in this, _Hishtus_ could be considered the fallen angel. And yet, he is still the most powerful being in all of creation."

...

"So... Hishtus could be considered Satan?"

"Exactly."

"But he doesn't exactly have fire and pits of lava."

The Doctor shook his head. "Andrew, the worst thing about this is the simple fact that we cannot destroy _Hishtus_ , because all of reality shall unravel if we do. He is connected to every single strand of time, every single atom of our existence. To even cut him would have disastorous consequences."

Andrew scratched his head. "But... if he is so powerful... why did he need to erase you from existence in order to take over everything?"

The Doctor glared down at the floor. "Because... I am the only being capable of stopping him. He perceived me as a threat to his victory, and so he conspired against me. Tricked every one of you into walking into your demise. You probably saw him right before you were pulled through, right? He may have created some lie, saying he was a grandfather or something."

Andrew nodded. "That was exactly what he did. I said he looked like a wizard the first time I saw him."

The Doctor smiled weakly. "The sad part about that is that it actually does hold some truth. He could be considered a wizard in some aspects."

" _And you could be considered a horrible person too, Doctor!_ " Hishtus' voice screamed out around them, and Andrew glanced behind him to finally view the true form of Hishtus'.

 _What was that?_

Andrew couldn't exactly tell what the thing infront of him was. It looked like a large snake, but it was constantly shifting and moving. Like a corrupted video. From it's jaws dripped black poison, and it's eyes were a sickly red colour.

" _I see you have finally discovered what I am, Andrew!_ "

Andrew scoffed. "Hardly. I'm still confused about so many things."

The Doctor coughed behind him. "It's better that way. You don't want to know how this thing devours it's victims."

Andrew kept his mouth shut about how the Doctor had killed people in other timelines. It wouldn't do good to antagonize him at the time.

Hishtus' eyes narrowed. " _Aren't you worried about your dear friend Chelsea? I'm done playing games with you, Andrew. All this eternity, I've been festering in my own guilt. My own blood. My own depression. Why did I draw the joker of this world, the complete evil card? Since I can't change it... I'm going to take my anger out by killing her. And you will be able to see. Every. Second. Of. It!_ "

Andrew cried out. "No! Please!"

...

Chelsea appeared infront of them, bound by chains. She simply lied on the ground, her eyes wide with terror.

"Andrew," She whispered, glancing over at him.

Andrew tried to respond, but he found he couldn't open his mouth. Chelsea simply frowned at him.

"It's okay if you can't speak, Andrew. I just want... I just want you to know... _you were the best friend I had in a long time_."

Hishtus slithered it's way over her, long knife-like claws pointing out. It leered at her, it's eyes turning black with excitement.

"Yes..." She whispered. "This is how I die. Disembowelment. Fitting, since I saved so many people from that very same fate. But... I must be strong. I will be strong. I will watch the face of my enemy as he carves his name into my very soul. I shall die with the thought of you in my face."

Hishtus growled. " _Foolish girl. I shall simply rip out your intestines and hang them above you like sausage! I shall sink my teeth into your flesh and devour your energy of time, I shall eat your ability to rip through reality._ "

Andrew covered his mouth and screamed when it's claws ripped into her chest, Chelsea letting out a bloodcurdling scream. He could see... he could see... the inside of her body. Her lungs. Her stomach. Her intestines slowly being lifted out-

"So this is how you get your anger out?" The Doctor asked through gritted teeth. "By murdering a girl? That's your way? You know what I think? That's the cowards way. The real man would talk it out."

Hishtus rumbled. " _I am a great monolith of strength! I am the great symbol of all existence. This girl shall only be the footnote to my magnificence. Pathetic creatures, humans are. Sacks of meat and bone. I could rip through them at the speed of an incoming train, could tear through the flesh with the strength of a wolverine._ "

The Doctor pursed his lips. "So, then. How does it taste?"

Hishtus grinned wolfishly. " _Like victory!_ "

Andrew narrowed his eyes. "Not if I can help it. You just... murdered Chelsea." He swayed on the spot, glancing over her still body.

 _Best friend she had in a long time._ He was going to stop Hishtus. He was going to avenge Chelsea's death now.

He spun around to face the Doctor. "How do we seal him away forever?"

The Doctor blinked. "Er... we could... seal off the void permanantly if I reverse the polarity of my quantam data-matrix and re-route it to the primary time valves located at the bottom..." He kept going, having his techno-babble speech.

Andrew waved his hand. "Can we do it fast?"

The Doctor nodded. "Of course. All we need is the TARDIS."

Andrew scrambled to get the screwdriver out of his pocket. "Will this work?"

The Doctor grinned. "Yes. All you need to do is hit that switch on the top there, and we should be back in the facility. My TARDIS is in there."

Hishtus roared above them. " _Going down without a fight, Doctor? After giving a grand and formal speech about cowardice? Sealing away your opponent instead of fighting him properly like a man? Oh wait, but is it that guilt?_ "

The Doctor froze in the spot, his eyes slowly turning towards Hishtus. "What?"

The demon leered. " _That ever present guilt, hidden at the back of your mind. The genocide of your own race. The delusions of grandeur you faced after the fact, telling yourself it was okay. While in reality, you were a horrible coward. Killing your own race in order to stop the enemy? Pitiful._ "

Andrew pulled on the Doctor's arm. "It's just trying to bait you on..." He hissed.

The Doctor shook his head. "No. This isn't just baiting anymore." He turned to face Hishtus, glaring with all the might of the Oncoming Storm. "This is full-blown psychological warfare. You know, I've never liked the word 'war'".

Exasperated, Andrew slammed his hand down onto the sonic screwdriver. He had enough of the long lectures and speechs. They were cool to watch, but actually being there was a different story. It was too intense for his liking.

They were both transported back infront of the Doctor's TARDIS, and Andrew was immediately face to face with the Doctor.

"What did you transport us back for?" The Doctor spat, his eyes spewing fire.

Andrew glared back at him. "Because we kind of have to seal Hishtus away."

The Doctor opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the entire facility rocking in an explosion.

"In the TARDIS, now!"

Andrew stumbled through the blue doors, still momentarily shocked by the size. Which was odd, since he had been in there only a year before.

The Doctor sprinted over to the console, hopping over a few strewn items. Andrew grimaced upon seeing a medical table just inside the entrance to the corridors.

The Doctor, noticing his discomfort, sighed. "Look, I know how much of a betrayal that was. But please, can you just... forgive me?"

Andrew nodded, his throat sore. "Yeah. I already did, before everybody vanished."

The Doctor smiled weakly. "Okay. Thank you."

" _ **I will not lose this game, Doctor!**_ " Hishtus' voice rang out through the TARDIS, and Andrew cried out as the entire ship shook. He grasped one of the coral struts and hung on tight, glancing around wildly as the lights flickered.

The Doctor was quick at work attaching two cables, and Andrew screamed at him. "Hurry! Before something horrible happens!"

The Doctor gritted his teeth. "I'm as fast as I can. Wait! Grab that brass tube over there!"

Andrew scurried over to the other side of the console, and pointed at the pipe pointing up. The Doctor nodded and gestured for him to hurry up.

Andrew hissed through his teeth and tossed the tube to the Doctor, who quickly pasted it on his... whatever the thing was supposed to be.

"What the hell is that thing?" Andrew blurted out, arms crossed. The Doctor glared up momentarily before clearing his throat.

"This is a device that will seal up every crack into the void. Luckily for us, this facility was already located in void space-"

"I'm sorry?" Andrew clutched his heart. They were... already in void space? How was that possible?

 _We don't know who built this facility. I could kiss the person who created it, though..._

"But... this facility... is surrounded by farmland?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Obviously somebody was looking out for you. Maybe a higher being?"

Andrew felt queasy as he sat down in the jump seat. The Doctor banged around for a few more seconds before finally uttering a final "Allons-y!"

He yelped as the entire TARDIS was thrown about and the screaming- oh God, the screaming -echoed around them.

" _ **No! This cannot be the end! Help! Help! My wingtips have turned to stone, my breath has turned to ice! What is this? What is this... encasement around me? This emptiness... this loneliness. My fears have solidified in this darkness, and my eyes have already grown tired of the absence of light!**_ "

The Doctor sneered in the TARDIS. "Well, too bad!"

With one final push of a button, Hishtus let out an agonizing scream as the TARDIS was seperated from the void, and the cracks were sealed.

Andrew felt his entire being be filled with warmth as the cold left his body. He felt happiness surround him as the comforting lights of the TARDIS blinked around him...

"Ahhhh!" The Doctor cried out nearby, and Andrew lifted his head in concern. The Doctor's entire form was rippling, and Andrew could see his tears streaming down his face.

Andrew understood now. When Hishtus had been controlling everything, their emotions had been suppressed. Not entirely, but still mostly suppressed. Now, he could feel the full tragedy of that days events. Chelsea was gone forever. Dead, in the abyss of the void. She had no corpse. Nobody knew her. Except for him and the Doctor.

The Doctor would be lonely, so lonely. Andrew would probably have to stay with him so-

"Doctor, my Doctor." A familiar voice drifted nearby, and the Doctor's head shot up.

"Is... is that you?"

Andrew gaped as Rose Tyler stepped into the room, her face bright and smiling as if nothing had happened at all.

The Doctor gulped down tears. "But... how are you here? Hishtus had erased you from existence-"

Rose laughed, a sweet angelic thing in light of everything that had happened. "Oh, Doctor. Don't you know the laws of physics? No energy can be destroyed. And certainly..." She stepped closer to grasp his hand. "Not the energy of love."

If Andrew was still in his own universe, he would have scoffed at the cheesy line displayed before him. But instead, he was filled with relief but also despair. The Doctor had somebody. They got their happy ending. So... what did he get?

The Doctor sputtered at the proclamation, and wiped away the dirt from his face. "I guess I forgot that one tiny part," He admitted, blinking away tears.

Rose tilted her head towards Andrew. "And... what about him?"

The Doctor blinked. "What... about him?"

Rose swept her blonde hair out her face and leaned in. "What are you going to do to help Andrew from now on, Doctor?"

The Doctor seemed to straighten himself up and he spun around to face the console, leaving Andrew and Rose to awkwardly stand around and exchange greetings.

"Well... it seems a pathway had opened up, Andrew. One passage back to a certain universe." The Doctor raised his chin, his eyes glazing over.

Andrew felt relief wash over him. "You mean... I can finally go home?"

The Doctor nodded. "Not only that, when you get back it will have only been moments before you got here."

Impending panic filled Andrew, and he grabbed at his hair. "But the plane crash!"

Shaking his head, the Doctor approached Andrew. "Never happened. When we sealed Hishtus away, it affected your reality. He never appeared there. Infact, if my calculations are correct, then you will be in Paris by tonight."

Andrew blinked. "So... Hishtus was responsible for the deaths of over a thousand people in a plane explosion?"

The Doctor shook his head. "That was an aborted timeline. This is the new and improved one. Your girlfriend Shelly will still be alive, your best friend Joel... everything will have been righted up again."

Feeling at ease, Andrew stood up. "Will my memories of everything that happened... still exist?"

The Doctor nodded. "Oh, yes! Like Rose said, no energy can be destroyed. You can't permanantly erase memories, they can only be repressed. Besides, you're a time traveller! You will always have these memories from now on."

Andrew felt his eyes fill up and he shook the Doctor's hand. "Thank... thank you. For everything, really. It's been an honour to work with you."

The Doctor smiled. "It was my pleasure. And remember, Andrew..." The Doctor leaned in a way that reminded Andrew of his father. " _You have your whole future ahead of you. Make it count_."

Andrew gasped, his hand flying over his mouth. That was the same thing his father had said.

The Doctor made no comment to his reaction, only offering a small smirk as he twisted around and started to work on the controls.

Rose smiled at Andrew as she skipped over to the Doctor. Andrew felt both relieved and also pained at having to leave the only other person who knew about Chelsea. Maybe... he could invest more time in Shelly? _She_ wasn't dead now. That never happened.

Nearby, Rose slowly repeated the verse of a poem he heard only months before...

* * *

 _Do not go gentle into that good night._

 _Old age should burn and rave at close of day;_

 _Rage, rage against the dying of the light._

 _-Dylan Thomas_

* * *

 **A/N: Hello! I hope you guys all enjoyed this chapter! Like I said last chapter, this is only the second last one. Well, actually I guess this is the last chapter. The next one is an epilogue, so it will certainly be shorter than this. But still interesting. After I post the epilogue (probably tomorrow or the next day), I will start to work on somewhat of a spiritual sequel to this. Except, it will be more of the inversion to this idea. Imagine: You keep getting increasingly cryptic messages in the mail, all of which have to do with Doctor Who... but you don't know who is sending them. Interested? That one will also be a mystery (most likely a better one, because I'll be able to plan it out more).**

 **Oh! Please leave a review on this chapter! _Please!_ I want to hear some feedback on this one. **

**Have a wonderful week! ~soultrain21**


	10. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

* * *

 _ **-Toronto Airport: June, 2015-**_

"We love you!" His mom yelled at him as he started to walk onto the plane with Shelly and Joel. Smiling slightly, he turned around.

"I love you!" Finally. He was finally able to say that, after a year of hell.

It was strange. All Andrew had to do was walk through the doors of the TARDIS, and he was suddenly blinking in the middle of the airport. Of course, he was surprised. But relieved. Everybody was acting perfectly normal, and it was easy for him to join into the conversation. The memories of the airport were so vivid, and now to relive them...

Without Hishtus, obviously.

The plane never ended up exploding in this timeline, and for that Andrew was grateful. He had an amazing time in Paris with Shelly and Joel, and he almost forgot that he had seen them die before. But that was gone. Never happened. It was erased from existence.

But... he felt like it ended up bittersweet anyway. Shelly eventually broke up with him to pursue another man, and he and Joel had slowly drifted apart. Perhaps, if he had been there for the whole time... maybe then it would've been different? Being away for a year changed him. Shelly and Joel certainly noticed the changes.

"What's wrong?" Was a usual question for Andrew in the months after, and he usually tried to sidestep the question completely. It wasn't like anybody would believe him anyways.

Chelsea, though... he had been able to compose himself within the TARDIS, but as soon as he was alone, he finally cried.

He cried, for the first time in a while, he cried. She did exist in his universe, except... she never knew him. She just simply went on her camping trip and got married to her man. A happy ending.

It was depressing, really. To have been away a whole year and come back just for everything to decline anyways. Obviously he didn't expect trumpets and music when he returned, but he expected it to be a lot happier. A lot more jovial.

Instead he got his same old life.

But it was alright, to Andrew. It was much better than scouring farmland for food in an alternate universe, and it was also better than being hunted down.

At least he was safe. And, he supposed... that was the way of life. Perhaps his experiences with the Doctor was the highlight of his life? He couldn't tell for sure. He still had so much more to live for.

The Doctor had explained to him that they would never be able to meet again, after he closed the hole in time. Andrew, at the time, had readily agreed. It also gave him a sense of closure, in a sense. It wouldn't do to have the Doctor popping in on a universe where he was practically famous.

It wouldn't do at all.

A decade after the experience, Andrew finally published his first work of fiction. And, quite ironically, he got fan-mail from a certain fan in the United Kingdom. A certain Chelsea Berbrook had liked his work quite a lot, and had written him mail expressing how much she enjoyed it.

Andrew had felt blessed at that moment. Time often works in mysterious ways, timelines interweaving with each other. Perhaps he and Chelsea were... fated to have theirs linked?

Many times through his long life, Andrew had questioned his sanity. He decided to not dwell on the fact, and just accept it as it was. He wouldn't obssess, he wouldn't focus any of his attention on his past, nor his future.

It was... that moment. That one moment in time. That was when Andrew realized. He had to live in the present, enjoy the moment. Live in the moment. Enjoy it for what it's worth. He had spent too many years trapped in depression, living in his past. It was time to move on.

It was time to live.

It was also in that moment, that he realized every person he met had influenced him in some way. He carried a piece of each of their souls, in a sense. Chelsea had given him hope. The Doctor had taught him how to forgive. Even Hishtus had taught him something. What darkness and abandonment would do to you. And that was really what it was, in the end. Darkness. But also, forgiveness.

They were always travelling towards death, that dark and foreign place. Forbidden to talk of, tragic to even think about. Always going towards the dark. It was inevitable. Completely inevitable. And Andrew... he wasn't afraid anymore. He wasn't afraid of death anymore. Because he knew, that even the smallest action could have the biggest effect. Rippling through time, changing peoples thoughts and attitudes.

Andrew knew what he needed now. He didn't need unconditional love, oh no. All he needed was that contact with other people. That contact was all he needed.

And he already had that contact. Everywhere, every atom, and every person. Even his animals. They were all alive. And so complex.

And, he supposed, it was time to finally just sit back, and...

 _Relax._

* * *

 _ **The End.**_

 **A/N: Oooh, it finished! Wow, hard to believe I started that back in August. Time sure flies. And now, I can start to work on my next Doctor Who fanfiction! Woo.**

 **Andrew's story has finally come to a close, but fear not, for another character's is fast approaching!**

 **Like I explained last chapter, this new fanfiction will be somewhat of an inversion of this concept. I'm not going to spoil it too much, but the mystery is much more deeper than this one. I've already decided the name for the fanfiction (after furiously writing down notes in my journal). The name for it will be...:**

 _ **"When The Storm Comes"**_

 **TA-DAH! Also, it is going to be a longer story than this one. Also much more organized. And much better grammar. Basically, better everything!**

 **Though, I can't leave you hanging for too long, I suppose. Here is the rough description of the fanfiction for you guys (meaning not the final description that will be on the actual story.)**

* * *

 _ **Ethan Mesdale had always considered himself a calm sort of man; collected, reserved, competent. That resolve was**_ _ **shattered the day he got the letter in his mail. What if Doctor Who did exist, somewhere, somewhen? Intrigued by the cryptic content of the letter, Ethan sets out on a journey of mystery and contemplation, and uncovers a universe-shattering truth that could change reality as he knows it.**_

* * *

 **Have a fun week, guys! I'll try to have the first chapter of that posted either this month, or next month. Some time. I'll have to work on it, and edit it. Ughh. Anyways, byee! ~soultrain21**


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